Sean McBrearty

Sean McBrearty

Hopes for 2018

At National level, I’d love to see Donegal get another Ulster title. I think Declan Bonner has a young team and if they could win Ulster and stay in Division 1, it would be great progress.

Locally, I always felt that if Kilcar could get out of Donegal, they would really show how they can play football in Ulster, and they did that against Scotstown and Slaughtneil. I think they can improve and be even more competitive next year, but winning the Donegal Championship will still be a big test.

I’d also like to see Letterkenny Gaels win the Junior Championship. We haven’t been too far away, and maybe just had a bit of bad luck at times. But I feel the panel of players is there to win it.

All-Ireland Champions: Dublin

Ulster Champions: Tyrone

Donegal Senior Champions: Kilcar

Donegal Intermediate Champions: St Naul’s

Donegal Junior Champions: Moville

One to Watch: Jason McGee

Jason had a very good year for the county last year, and I also saw him in a couple of club games where he really impressed me.

He’s still underage for the Under 20s and it will be interesting to see if he plays for them, or the seniors. He’s a man with huge potential.

Oliver Prunty

Oliver Prunty

Hopes for 2018

I hope we will see more attacking football, like we saw when Kilcar played Slaughtneil last year in the Ulster Club Championship.

Hopefully there will be a lot less defensive football, because it can be boring and doesn’t attract people to the game.

You can have fascinating defensive games, but if your club or county are not involved, and you’re just attending as a neutral, it can be very hard to watch.

Neutrals want a day out and good entertainment and to come home thinking they saw a good match.

I hope in 2018 we will be remembering games for great scores, and not for great tackles or blocks.

All-Ireland Champions: Mayo

Ulster Champions: Tyrone

Donegal Senior Champions: Kilcar

Donegal Intermediate Champions: Aodh Ruadh

Donegal Junior Champions: St Mary’s, Convoy

One to Watch: Conor O’Donnell

I was very impressed when I saw him play for Donegal minors last year and also when I saw him in the Under 21 County Final.

I would expect him to have a big year for his club Carndonagh this year.

Brian McCabe

Brian McCabe

Hopes for 2018:

From a National point of view, Dublin are still going to be there or thereabouts, with Mayo pushing them, and maybe Kerry if they bring in these young lads like David Clifford.

I think it’s a good time for Declan Bonner to be taking over Donegal. There’s a lot of talented lads in there and they didn’t become bad players overnight.

I suppose we’d all like to see Michael Murphy playing full-forward but we probably didn’t have the physicality for that to happen. With Nathan Mullins there now, and Jason McGee and Michael Carroll a year old, maybe we will see him closer to goal this year.

Realistically, I think we will have to win our three home league games to stay up, and I think if we do stay in Division 1, we will be in a good place to give Ulster a rattle.

All-Ireland Champions: Dublin

Ulster Champions: Donegal

Donegal Senior Champions: St Eunan’s

Donegal Intermediate Champions: Aodh Ruadh

Donegal Junior Champions: St Mary’s, Convoy

One to Watch: Niall O’Donnell

I’ve worked with Niall O’Donnell before, and in my eyes, he’s a genius. He’s the best player I’ve coached, and he’s just a joy to watch, and his attitude is spot on as well.

I think a huge call this year will be whether he is with the seniors, or is left with the Under 20s, where there is a very talented group.

But whatever team he is with, I’m sure he will make a big impact for them.

John Haran

John Haran

Hopes for 2018:

I would like to see a proper schedule for club players, so that they know when their games are going to be played.

Players need to be able to know when they can take a holiday, and when they are going to have a free weekend.

I’d also like to see the league finished before the club championship starts. We don’t know if Donegal will make the Super 8s yet, but you probably will have August, September, and October to run off the championships.

Hopefully the games will be spaced out, and that will create interest and draw good crowds, and you will have a decent club championship.

It would be good if county players played a few more league games for their club, but if we could get a proper club schedule in place, we could park that for a bit.

All-Ireland Champions: Dublin

Ulster Champions: Tyrone

Donegal Senior Champions: Kilcar

Donegal Intermediate Champions: Cloughaneely

Donegal Junior Champions: Red Hugh’s

One to Watch: Niall O’Donnell

I know Niall is probably well enough known around the county at this stage, but I think he could break through into the senior team this year, and make an impact in the summer.

I played with him for St Eunan’s last year, and even though we lost to Gaoth Dobhair in the quarter-final, he was the standout player on the field, scoring nine points.

He can kick points off his right foot and his left, and we don’t have many forwards like that.

We don’t have that many strong inside forwards in general, so he could make a difference for the senior team.

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