Rodgers hails Donegal’s collective desire for improvement

THERE has been a collective commitment to improvement this season and Donegal will put that on the line this weekend.

They lead Division Two after winning all three games to date and face another Ulster derby when Cavan roll into Ballyshannon on Sunday.

Captain Roisin Rodgers returned after injury as two goals from Katie Dowds spearheaded their victory over Tyrone before the league break.

Rodgers, a personal trainer by trade, is well versed in getting primed for peak performance.

After three draws in their first four games last year, promotion fizzled out but victory this weekend would push Donegal another step towards the league final.

“I suppose it’s hard to pinpoint,” Rodgers said of what has made the difference this season.

“I think, last year, we were just a bit disappointed in our own performances ourselves in different games.

“I remember when we played Westmeath last year, I think we were up by six points or so and it ended up a draw.

“It was just little things that we wanted to really work on this year and just push on.”

There was no one lightbulb moment in the off-season but everyone took a look in the mirror and vowed to build on last season.

“We’re still building, we’re a young squad but it’s nice to take the learnings on board and I think we can really see that this year from our campaign so far,” Rodgers added.

“We’re trying to take on as much learning as we possibly can from every single game and every single training that we do.

“We just want to be better and I think everyone, it’s not just the team that starts, everyone really wants to improve themselves.

“Everyone wants to be better for Donegal, for Donegal football and prove that we can be better than what we were.”

A hallmark of their early performances has been the consistency. They’ve been helped by a strong squad and with players adding a boost when coming in off the bench.

Strength in depth is important and often a cliché. In a case of the current Donegal group, it’s more than word but what difference does it actually make?

“I don’t think there’s ever been a game where we felt 100 per cent comfortable until that final whistle blows and I think most teams are probably the same.” Rodgers stated.

“It doesn’t even matter what the score is but I know there was a point last week when we were playing Tyrone.

“It was such a nice feeling seeing the girls coming on and they did come in with a big punch and they did really help us.

“When our legs were gone at that stage and the pitch was a bit heavy too, so it was nice to have those fresh legs coming in. They really showed up,” she added.

“I think that’s a massive part of what we’ve been trying to build on this year in training and on the field. It’s just showing up for each other and doing it for each other.”

With the break in the league last weekend, Donegal took time to focus on themselves and get some extra running into the legs. They know they’ll need it against a Cavan side with an unbeaten start, dropping their only points in an opening round game against Mayo.

“They’re a serious side and it’s just about what we can control going into it,” Rodgers said of this week’s game focus.

“It’s about trying to get our basics right and getting all that fundamental skill work done, it is massively important. It’ll be a good challenge for us looking into it.”