BY MATTHEW WILSON
THE Donegal senior ladies side are gearing up to the start of their National League campaign this Sunday and Susanne White expressed that it’s vital that they get off to a good start.
James Daly’s side have regathered in recent times to prepare for the upcoming 2026 campaign where they’ll be striving to progress further.
Speaking to the Donegal News, star forward Susanne White stated that things are going well in the camp since they’ve gotten back underway and they’re looking forward to competitive action.
“It’s going very well, the element of the new rules brings a bit of excitement to it. We have a good pre-season under us, we’ve had a few challenge matches and we definitely feel ready heading into this weekend so we’re looking forward to it.”
James Daly was operating with a youthful squad last term, with some of them getting their first taste of senior football.
They’ve added some more experience to the group this year as well as a couple of players who excelled at minor level last season
With last season’s squad now having a year of senior football under their belt, they’ll be better equipped entering the new campaign and White discussed that the group are feeling in a good place.
“I think last year for the league it was definitely more about trying to find our feet and gel as a team, there were so many girls in so it was tough.
“The first few games were nearly trial and error with things whereas this year we’re coming in better equipped. The addition of some young girls like Ava Caulfield from Dungloe, she’s flying.
“The addition of these young girls has only strengthened our squad, we haven’t really lost anyone from last year apart from maybe one or two girls. We’re definitely feeling in a good place and hopefully on Sunday we can show that on the pitch as well.”
With the vast majority of the Donegal squad having experienced senior football now, the one major change they’ll face this term is the new rules that are being implemented for the National League.
12 rule enhancements are being trialled during the early part of the season. Six of the 12 changes mirror the GAA Football Review Committee’s rule enhancements in the men’s game while the other six look specifically at the LGFA rules.
The group will have been getting to grips with the new rules in both training and challenge matches, with the Killybegs native expressing that the changes that have been implemented have been enjoyable so far and she’s looking forward to seeing how they fruition in a competitive environment.
“I think it’s an agreement that most girls are enjoying them. It makes games more open and a game is never really done because there’s more space in the forward line and on the flip side, defensively there’s a lot more one versus one battles.
“It’s a lot quicker, especially with the solo and go, we’ve found that over the last few weekends. Probably just the fitness as well, the middle eight players have a lot more ground to cover with the game being a bit quicker.
“I think they’re going to do nothing but make the game better, that’s what we have seen so far anyway. It’ll be good now to see what they’re like in a competitive game and how they work over the next few weeks for the National League but we’re definitely in favour of them so far.”
The Donegal senior ladies take to the field this Sunday for their first competitive outing of the 2026 season.
They begin their National League Division 2 campaign against Westmeath on home soil at O’Donnell Park.
The Killybegs forward stated that it’s vital for the side to produce a good display and get off to a good start in the league against the Leinster outfit this weekend.
“It’s nice to have your first game at home, it’s massive that we get off to a good start to be honest. It’ll set the tone for the rest of the league so we’ve had a massive emphasis on our first game and getting off to a good start.
“We drew with Westmeath last year in Westmeath, looking back we probably should’ve won that game but we let them into it quite late on. We just need to focus on getting over the line on Sunday and putting in a good performance because it’s massive to have a good start to the league campaign.”
Following a fourth place finish in the Division 2 last term, James Daly’s will certainly be aiming for a top two finish and secure themselves a league final place.
White discussed that this would be the aim within the group setting out but insisted that with so many competitive teams within the league, they just have to take it one game at a time.
“It’s definitely something that’s in the back of your mind and that’s what our goal is setting out, to get to a Division 2 Final but it’s a very competitive league and you can’t look forward too much and you just have to look at what’s in front of you.
“There’s so many tight games and we learned that last year as well. We just have to take it game by game and try not look far ahead.”
