BY MATTHEW WILSON

DONEGAL ladies captain Roisin Rodgers is hoping that the side can prove on Saturday why they deserve to retain their senior status as they prepare for a relegation play-off with Leitrim.

James Daly’s side were beaten by ten-points against Armagh in last Saturday’s TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Championship relegation semi-final.

Leitrim were defeated by Connacht rivals Mayo to set up this weekend’s showdown with Donegal.

Rodgers stated that it was a difficult encounter against the Orchard county but they now have to regroup ahead of this weekend’s big clash.

“It was a tough game for us. We knew coming up against Armagh again, especially after the Ulster Final, it was going to be a tough battle. They’re a very strong side so it was definitely a very difficult game for us.”

“I think now it’s just about what we can do as a group to come back together and go hard for the game now this weekend in order to get the win we need to not go back down (to intermediate)”.

Despite being just 23-years-old, the Naomh Muire native would be considered as one of the more experienced members in the Donegal ladies squad.

Rodgers is now into her sixth campaign with the senior county panel and was named as the team captain by manager James Daly at the beginning of the year.

She discussed how it’s strange to think that she’s one of the more senior players on the panel at such a young age but is enjoying the new role which has been given to her.

“It’s been good. Being 23 in a fairly new team, it’s funny I catch myself sometimes whenever I’m there and I’m like ‘I would be considered one of the more experienced players on the team’. It’s crazy to think and a few of the girls are the same, being only 23,24,25 and we’d be those experienced players that are trying to help the girls out as much as we can.”

Rodgers continued by expressing how the 2025 campaign to date has been a real learning curve for her but insists that it’s about making sure that the younger girls learn as much as possible in order to build on it going forward.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve for me anyway and been a tough year coming through the league with a few draws and a couple of wins as well as the Ulster Final so there’s a lot of learning to be taken from it. It’s now about getting the girls the most experience that they can get from it. I think we learned a lot this year and it’s about building up from here.”

James Daly and his Donegal ladies side don’t have long to reflect on last Saturday’s defeat to the Orchard county as they are out again this weekend when they face Leitrim in the must win TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Championship Relegation play-off.

Donegal will face the Wild Rose County in Kilcoyne Park, Sligo on Saturday with a 2pm throw-in scheduled.

The short turnaround could prove an obstacle however, it’s a challenge that both outfits will have to deal with as Leitrim were in action last Saturday also.

The Donegal midfielder discussed how it’s a fast turnaround between the two games but they knew that would be the consequence for losing last weekend.

She’s hoping that both herself and the side can go out and produce a performance against Leitrim this weekend that will prove that the county are worthy of their place in the All-Ireland Senior Ladies Championship.

“We knew that if we lost the last day that we’d have a very quick turnaround. It’s five days away now so it’s coming fast. We’ll get a look at the video and talk to the team to see what we can do. We have to make the most out of it, no one wants to be going back down to intermediate”, said Rodgers.

She continued: “We want to prove that we can stay up there and that’s what this game is about, proving to ourselves that we can do it and what we can display on the day, I think that’s the most important part. Coming out of the game the last day, we probably didn’t play our best and we know that as a team. We need to be able to show that now on Saturday against Leitrim and prove to ourselves that we deserve to be up in senior football and stay up there.”