'It's pure joy... unreal. Probably celebrated a bit too much' - Frayne gears up for final
YEAH, SURE, THERE'S a Leinster final to be played and the Delaney Cup still has a pair of red and white ribbons on one lug to go with the green and gold, but for now we just want to recline and relax in the warm bath of the Meath win over Dublin before the chill sets in.
'It was a bit surreal to be honest,' answers the Royals captain Eoghan Frayne at the press launch held at the Battle of the Boyne visitor's centre, perfectly located for this Sunday's upcoming joust between Meath and Louth.
'Before the game we had belief that we could win and then when it actually happens it's probably a different feeling. It's pure joy, it was unreal. Probably celebrated a bit too much at the end!
'It's hard to put into words. I'm only in the panel there three years but for the likes of Donal Keogan, Cillian and Mento (Bryan Menton) and a few older lads, they've been getting hammered nearly every year. I haven't felt that but I'd say that's tough going. I was more happy for them than for me.'
Frayne and a few others kicking around weren't subject to the same Stockholm Syndrome.
As a minor, Frayne's Meath side beat Dublin in both the Leinster championship and in group stages. While they lost twice at U20 level, there were enough players coming through later at minor and U20 that experienced beating Dublin.
But to beat them in Portlaoise took nerves and daring. As captain, Frayne had it worked out with management that they would play with the wind in the first half if they won the coin toss. Once that happened, they were determined to be the aggressors.
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'Then you're trying to get shots off as much as possible,' said the Summerhill man.
'You just have to get a shot, squeeze the kick out, get a shot. Try to do that as much as possible. Try to rack up as many two-pointers or even goals if you can.
'I think you have to go after two-pointers if you have the wind. There's definitely something in that. Then just squeezing the kick out as well. When you're trying to get out of a kick out press and there's momentum against you with the new rules and there's a wind against you, it's extremely hard to get out. You need an unbelievable fielder of the ball or you just need luck as well. I think a few breaks fell our way as well, which was good.'
The game being in Portlaoise definitely had an effect, he says. The same wind just doesn't blow like that in Croke Park.
And of course, the different dimensions presents a new picture to Dublin veteran goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton. The new rules had already accelerated that process anyway.
'Cluxton would be real familiar with Croke Park. He'd probably know… He'd have his sweet spots of where he can get the ball off.'
The high was high. So how long did it take for the comedown to arrive?
Frayne in action against Louth in the league. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
'Probably Monday. After the game on Sunday, Monday was hard,' said Frayne, a student of Business Management in Maynooth who is currently in a year's placement with ESB.
'Anyone you meet, people are still talking about it. I think once you get into training on Tuesday, that brings your feet back to the ground. You're brought back down there. It's going to be hard and there's going to be a lot of noise. It's just important that we stay in our little bubble and focus on the things that are important.'
He himself clipped over two two-point scores, a serious weapon for Meath on the day.
'You'd back yourself all day.& If you're in the middle of the goals on the two-point arc, you'd back yourself four out of five times. You have to fancy yourself,' he says.
Along with the ones they have profited from, the new rules are a success, Frayne believes.
'Even when I'm not playing, I like to see lads taking shots on from far out. Even lads taking shots on from the outside of the boot from long ranges. Like Diarmuid Connolly used to do with Dublin. You love seeing that. You'd be lying if you said that's not a good watch
'Even watching back some games from the old rules, you couldn't… Even playing club games, it's tough. It's going sideways the whole time. If you're forward there, you beat a fella, then there's another fella, then another fella, then another fella to try and beat. I think it's definitely helped the game.'
Ok, ok. That's us now.
It's onto Louth and the prospect of Meath's first Leinster title since 2010, when they beat Louth in what is the second most-famous Leinster decider – just behind the four-game marathon of 1991 – and certainly the most controversial one after Meath forward Joe Sheridan threw the ball over the line for an illegal goal, leading to referee Martin Sludden being chased off the pitch by angry Louth fans.
There's a big difference now. For the last 15 years, Dublin used both sides as their plaything. Some days they would do just enough to beat them, other days they devoured them, some days swallowed them whole. It depended on their mood really, but the outcome was never in question.
Now with just Louth left on the pitch, they are on that most GAA of positions; a hiding to nothing. Imagine beating Dublin and then losing to Louth?
And yet lose to Louth they have extensive experience of in recent times. Most notably the final round of division 2 in this year's league, when Louth scuppered Meath's promotion hopes while also rescuing themselves from relegation.
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'They obviously had our number the last two times in Iniskeen. Louth have some serious footballers and it's going to take an even better performance than we gave against Dublin to beat them,' said Frayne.
'I don't think they have a weakness all over the field. They're strong all around and they have obviously a few key lads like Sam (Mulroy) and a few others that will take minding. They've had our number and they've just been up for it.'
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