‘I’m confident now that any free I put down that hopefully it goes over the bar’ | Newcastle West’s Eoin Hurley on free taking

Hurley was responsible for six NCW points in their Munster semi-final win over Clonmel Commercials, three of which came from frees.

As Newcastle West prepare for their first Munster Senior Football Club Championship Final since 1987, they’ll no doubt be hoping that free-taker Eoin Hurley is in fine form ahead of it.

The forward spearheaded the Magpies scoring in their incredible Munster semi-final victory over Clonmel Commercials just under a fortnight ago, accounting for six of their sixteen points and hitting three from dead ball scenarios to guide them to an extra-time win.

And in terms of pressure from the spot, Hurley isn’t phased as he prevents the occasion from getting to his head. Similar to his semi-final kicks, he takes each free ‘as it is’ and admits constant training in that area of his game has ensued a high-level of confidence.

“I don’t really think within that kind of sense I just take every free as it is, as a lot of people say the goals don’t move and like that, I probably wreck the boys’ heads that I’d probably be the last one (to leave training), I’d take a few balls there after every training and kind of before every training, Jimmy (Lee) would be up there maybe twenty minutes, half an hour more than he normally would because he has to take the balls home.

“But I practice them a lot to be fair and I’m confident now that any free I put down that hopefully it goes over the bar but it’s all just a process and I just try to stick to that.”

His role as free-taker came about in quite an unlikely scenario. Following an U16 final where several free-kicks were misplaced by his team-mates, the Newcastle West man was handed the responsibility which he would hold right up to his first days with the seniors.

An injury to former Limerick and Newcastle West footballer Jamie Lee at the time provided Hurley with the opportunity to kick for the Seniors and he’s been responsible ever since.

“At U16 we played a county semi-final and I’d say we missed nine or ten (frees), we had three or four different free takers so I kind of got the nod to go on them then and since then I’ve just tried to make my own really and I think it was 2019 was my first year with the seniors taking them, Jamie I think was injured at the start he was normally on them and I’ve just been on them since.”

His biggest task of his career will come this Sunday in their Munster final clash with Kerins O’Rahillys, where he will be hoping to take any opportunity he gets to steer his team-mates in the winning direction.

Newcastle West face Kerins O’Rahillys this Saturday at 7.30pm in Pairc Ui Rinn in the Senior Munster Club Football Championship Final.