Panthers all set for Brunell challenge in Women’s Super League opener

PORTLAOISE Panthers head coach, Keith Conroy is not fazed at the prospect of his side taking on defending National Cup champions, Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in their curtain raiser to the 2024/25 Women’s Super League season in St Mary’s Hall on Sunday.

The Laois side could not have asked for a much tougher opener than that of their Cork opponents, but, while acknowledging the depth of the task his players face, Conroy is confident his new-look squad can mount a serious challenge.

“With Brunell, you’re talking about one of the best teams in the country,” Conroy told the Laois Nationalist. “They won the (National) Cup last season and they’re very strong. We’ll give them the respect they deserve. We know there’s a strong team coming here, but we’ll be up for the challenge without a shadow of a doubt. This game will give us a good idea of where we’re at. Both teams are coming in and no one knows what’s going to happen.

“We’re going to have a packed St Mary’s and there’s no better hall in the country when it’s packed. It’s so good down there that we can’t play double headers because of the condensation. The place is going to be absolutely rocking and our players love playing at home,” he said.

Certainly Conroy has been busy strengthening his side throughout the off-season, bringing in four quality players, whom he believes, can help Portlaoise build on their Super League survival last season.

While 5’11” American power forward, Hailey Jordan is set to link up with the squad this week, Panthers already have fellow new recruits Lynn Tunnah, an Ireland 3x3 international, and former UCC Glanmire centre, Amy Dooley well on board for the coming campaign.

What’s more, the recent withdrawal of DCU Mercy from the Super League paved the way for the return of Ciara Byrne to Portlaoise, the highly-rated point guard, set to prove vital cog in their line-up this season.

These new additions, combined with the talent already there in Portlaoise, most notably co-captains Alyssa Velles and Megan Dunne, have increased expectations of a much improved run for Panthers in top-flight basketball this year.

“With the team that we have now, we’re a threat everywhere, whereas maybe not every year we were,” said Conroy.

“Defences can’t cheat maybe as much as they used to on Alyssa. We’re hoping that, with the team that we have there now, she’s going to get that little bit more room or more one-on-ones where she can show her skills.

“Bringing in Hailey, Amy, Ciara and Lynn, they’re four serious players to add to any team. Ciara is definitely one of the best defenders in the country. She played the whole way up with Portlaoise and she’s come back to us now from DCU with so much Super League experience.

“Lynn can play anywhere from 1 to 4. You’re comfortable with her playing any of those positions. She’s great. She’s so adaptable.

“In our pre-season match against Cavan, Amy Dooley had 24 points and 20 rebounds. She was phenomenal up and down the court. She scrimmaged with the girls earlier in the year before we started to get back, so she knew a lot of them and there was no really big transition.

“Hailey has got a really high basketball IQ, so settling in is not going to be a problem. You just want her getting to know the girls, but she’ll be ready to go by the start of the season,” he assured.

Victories over DCU Mercy and Fr Mathews in the second half of last season kept Portlaoise off the bottom of the table and away from the threat of relegation. But Conroy and his players will be looking for more than just survival this time around and, to do that, the Panthers boss insists they must learn from the mistakes of the previous campaign.

“In a lot of the games last year, the girls dug themselves holes,” said Conroy. “First quarter, they might be down 10 or 12, and at half-time they might be down 16 or 18 points. We can’t be going into the dressing room with that. We want to be in the game the whole way.

“The first five minutes is so important. We come out, we set the tone, we’ve got to be intense and we don’t want to be going into that hole that they were creating last season, when the game was already over at half-time. Them days have to be gone.

“We have to be competitive and, if you do that, you’re making the other team think about it then.

“The girls have worked really hard for me in the off season and they want to prove that they are better than what their results showed last season,” he said.