Having consolidated senior status following their tremendous success at intermediate level in 2005, Crookedwood found the going tough in senior hurling last year. Although they recorded a great win over Brownstown in the opening round, the winners' section presented some mighty challenges against the leading teams in Westmeath. While success proved elusive, Crookedwood continued to make progress at underage level. Here, Damien Maher reflects on Crookedwood's season in the company of some of the hard working underage mentors. Having affiliated back in 1906, Crookedwood are one of the oldest and proudest clubs in Westmeath and while their base is small and success limited, they remain determined to build on the historic intermediate title won in 2005. Having reached senior level, Crookedwood, like any other club attempting to break the mould, will be anxious to give their young stars a good taste of top flight hurling in order to develop them for the future. Last year, Tommy Kelly took over from Noel Boyce as trainer of the senior side. Crookedwood got their year off to a winning start with a 2-7 to 0-5 victory over Brownstown, the county's most successful club with 15 senior titles. All things considered, this was a fine win for Tommy Kelly's undaunted charges and they led at half time by 1-2 to 0-3, following a fortuitous goal by Kevin Tormey. In the second half, Crookedwood maintained their high tempo against the 14 men of Brownstown and a goal from Kevin Orme made certain of a winning start. Victory meant Crookedwood joined the remaining first round winners in the toughest of the two sections. The one consolation, though, was that, under the new championship format, they were immediately out of relegation trouble. The first game in the winners section saw Crookedwood take on Collinstown side, Lough Lene Gaels, and although they battled every step of the way, the 2005 intermediate champions struggled to keep tabs on their vaunted opponents. Micheál Savage had a fine game, scoring 1-3 in total, but at half time Lough Lene Gaels led by four points and went on to score 3-6 in the second half as they recorded a 16-point victory (5-11 to 1-7). In the second game in this section, Crookedwood took on eventual champions, Clonkill, at Cusack Park and it proved another difficult assignment. At half time there were 10 points between the side, Clonkill leading by 1-11 to 0-4, and in the second half, the Westmeath kingpins added four further goals, leaving Crookedwood trailing in their wake. However, Johnny Orme contributed five points in total for the Crookedwood men and Anton Savage, Kevin Tormey, Damien Grifferty, Ciaran Brennan, Simon Moorehead and Noel Yourell also got on the score sheet. It finished 5-18 to 0-11 in Clonkill's favour. Crookedwood had one final outing in this ultra competitive group and that was against emerging Mullingar side, St. Oliver Plunkett's. Here, Crookedwood gave a much better account of themselves and, given that they had played St. Oliver Plunkett's in the intermediate grade, were clearly unfazed at the challenge that faced them, but they trailed by nine points at half time (1-8 to 0-2) and had left themselves with too much ground to make up. They produced a better second half display and some fine scores from the likes of Micheál Savage, Johnny Orme and David Newman meant St. Oliver Plunkett's didn't inflict the rout many had predicted. It ended 1-13 to 0-8 in the Mullingar side's favour, though, and brought the curtain down on senior championship '07 for the wood. Meanwhile, at underage level, Crookedwood continued to compete effectively. The main highlight would surely have been the performances of the under 14 side in the championship as they reached the final against Ringtown. Played at Clonkill GAA grounds in September, Crookedwood produced a battling display, but came out on the wrong side of a 3-13 to 1-4 result. Nevertheless, they can be heartened by the performances of several of their younger stars. A disastrous first half display is what cost the wood dearly in this match, though, as they trailed by 13 points at the interval, 2-8 to 0-1, and despite their heroic efforts in the second half, the game had drifted beyond them. Simon McCarthy was one of the real stars of the occasion, scoring 1-2. The Crookedwood team was: Ciaran McCabe; Lorcan Savage, Darragh O'Keefe, Adrian Boyhan; Breen O'Reilly, Simon McCarthy, Stuart Doyle; Mark Browne, Conor McCarthy; Conor Savage, Aaron Orme, Padraig Moran; Michael McLoughlin, Owen Barry, Patrick Wilson. Subs used: David Shaw, Dillon Maxwell, Seamus Smith, Ciaran Madden, Joseph Monaghan. Crookedwood's under 16 hurlers also had a good year, reaching the semi-final of the championship against Lough Lene Gaels. At minor level, they qualified for the semi-final too, where they played out a thrilling encounter with Castlepollard and, although losing by nine points (5-16 to 3-13), gave a great account of themselves. "It was a great game. Barry Kelly refereed it and remarked on how it was one of the best underage games he did in Westmeath during the year," recalled Gerry Butler, who was responsible for the minor side in '07. "We were happy enough with how the championship went. Had we not conceded two easy goals, the result might have been different. We won the minor A title in 2006 and have plenty of young talent coming through the ranks," he added, explaining how they competed very well against Castletown Geoghegan in the first round of the under 21 championship, which they lost by just a goal (2-9 to 1-9). Elsewhere, they put in plenty of work at under eight and under 10 levels also. Seamus Moran, who oversaw developments at these grades, was pleased with how 2007 worked out. "We had a good number of under eights and it was very good at under 10, but we need to keep building on it," he explained. Having two young sons involved, it was a natural path for Seamus to follow and he enjoyed working with the young stars of the future. At under 12 level, Crookedwood competed in every game and were always strong enough to field against the bigger clubs, which is encouraging. They gained invaluable experience against the likes of Castletown Geoghegan. "Taking the emphasis away from winning at all costs is a good idea and Westmeath GAA are doing the correct thing because we can now help young people focus on developing the skills of the game," remarked Seamus. "I completed a coaching course and found it very useful for working with younger players. It's important because the GAA is in competition with other sports," he added. Developing their underage players and having a good system in place to harness the talent available to them can only benefit Crookedwood in the future as they attempt to make their mark at senior level. The next few years will be tough, but they're up for the challenge. Finally, 2007 was another step in the right direction for Crookedwood's Feichin Brennan, who was the referee for the minor hurling championship final between Raharney and Southern Gels/Fr. Dalton's. The Crookedwood team which defeated Brownstown in the 2007 senior hurling championship was: Stephen Nulty; Martin Connell, Colin Murray, Enda Murray; Gerard Brennan, Anton Savage, Shane Orme; Finian Newman, Noel Kiernan; Henry Reilly, Stephen Leavy, Micheál Savage; Kevin Orme, Kevin Tormey, David Kelly. Subs used: Johnny Orme, Richard Crowley, Shane Collins and John James Brennan. Tweet

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