Laois' Eoin Lowry ready for Croke Park Tailteann Cup showdown versus Down

Killeshin’s Eoin Lowry is preparing to take the field at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon as Laois aims to secure the Tailteann Cup against Down.

"We get to go out to Croke Park again and hopefully put in a performance so all going well, looking forward to it now yeah. We've been taking it step by step and look, we've one more performance, hopefully we can show all the work that's gone in this year. Look, Down is going to be a very big test, we know what they're like after last year so we've a little bit to learn and hopefully we can show up and go out and enjoy it next Saturday," he said.

When asked about his physical condition after dealing with a few niggles, Lowry emphasised the importance of the three-week break for both himself and the team to recover before Saturday.

"All good, looking forward to it now next week so the three weeks probably give everyone a chance to get back upright and put in a few tough weeks training so all good," Lowry said.

Reflecting on last year’s clash with Down, Lowry and his teammates aim to put it behind them, recognising that every game offers a learning experience.

"Ah look you learn every game you play, we've done video analysis, we've looked at our own performance and look anything we've worked on or tried to work on over the last couple of weeks so hopefully we can go out and show now on Saturday," he said.

Laois had a mixed journey in this year’s Tailteann Cup, drawing with Carlow, defeating Wicklow, and losing to Fermanagh in the group stages. Though they triumphed over New York, the performance was not memorable.

"Look it's a long campaign so this will be seven weeks now, seventh game in the Tailteann Cup so you just have to take it step by step and keep learning and look we've played a lot of our panel so it's going well," Lowry said.

Lowry highlighted the hunger within the Laois team, with every player eager to earn a spot on the starting team for Saturday’s contest.

"It's huge, having good numbers there as well and look we kind of had a couple of unlucky lads stepping out with a few bad injuries there as well throughout the year but everyone is pushing, even in training there this morning there's lads putting their hands up and look that's what you need, especially with this kind of competition that goes very deep into the summer," he said.

From a player’s perspective, Lowry believes the team is mentally prepared and excited for Saturday.

"I think we're in a good place, we obviously know last year was tough and we're just going out for a performance and looking forward to the occasion as well," Lowry said.

Lowry concluded by sharing his thoughts on the significance of the Tailteann Cup, emphasising that more games lead to improvement for Laois and other competing counties.

"Exactly, more games obviously you're going to improve as well so it's very important for us as well and we're just taking it step by step and hopefully one more big step now next weekend," he ended.