Return of injured powerhouse was pivotal to Offaly's extraordinary success

THE return from injury of one of Offaly's most powerful and strongest footballers was arguably the single most important moment on the extraordinary road to winning the first Leinster Minor Football Championship title since 1989.

Tullamore man Eoin Rouse had to do his own solitary journey for most of the season as he battled back from a meniscus tear in his knee. He had to do a lot of lonely rehab work and exercises on his own but did what was required as he eventually got back fit enough to play for Offaly.

Missing for the first round walloping by Dublin, Rouse got his first taste of action when coming on in the 23^rd minute of the heavy loss to Louth up in Hunterstown. His influence was immediately apparent as he helped bring Offaly back into contention after a shocking start before they fell away again, losing by 2-26 to 2-17 and flattered to be that close.

Offaly had a highly rated team. Rouse was one of the many players who had impressed as they won the Adam Mangan tournament at U15 level but it looked very much like it wasn't going to happen for them as they stared an early group exit in the face. With three teams qualifying, however, Offaly still had their fate in their own hands and duly survived when edging out Laois in the last group game.

In the knockout stages, Offaly have improved with every game, beating Wicklow, Meath and Kildare and then taking out treble seeking Louth with an almost unbelievable late rally in Monday's final at a throbbing St Conleth's Park in Newbridge.

It was very much a combined effort with every player playing his part. They deserve huge credit for sticking with it when things were going wrong and turning it all around. No one player was more important than any other but no team will win without their best players performing at optimum level.

The strength and power of the second year minors was crucial. Rouse was one of these along with Kilclonfert's Tadgh Kelly, Rhode's Cian McNamee and Clara's Dylan Dunne. The power of Rouse and his ability to dominate games, the breathtaking star factor in McNamee and Dunne is obvious to all who watch football while Kelly is rock solid at the heart of defence, a man who does his job quietly and gets through the unseen work and stopping that can often slip under the radar but is as important as the spectacular scores kicked by Dunne, McNamee et-al.

It is as close to certain as you can ever be in football that Offaly would not be Leinster champions without Rouse's return from injury. His influence was seismic to Offaly's resurgence as he first gave them a foothold and then excelled when moved to wing back from the Meath game on – that looked a strange decision at the time but it worked a dream as management sought to add an attacking threat up the left flank.

His influence is demonstrated by the fact that he was almost man of the match in every game he started in – Dylan Dunne was TG4's choice on Monday night and he has been absolutely brilliant in the attack, a player with such exciting potential. Jack Ryan's two point free taking and ability to take setbacks on his chin all year earned him the selection of some; Cian McNamee was the pick of many as he was at the centre of so much and Rouse could well have got the TG4 award but the presence of his uncle Paul Rouse as their analyst probably prohibited that.

Man of the match awards are a very individual thing and don't really matter. Suffice to say that all those players were magnificent and helped drive Offaly to victory.

Rouse's performances have been remarkable as he has a heavily bandaged left knee and looks to be carrying it but remained able to get around all over the field and last the distance.

“It's not too bad now, it is getting more stable,” he said modestly after the great win. “I had to put in the hours to get back but it has paid off.”

A son of former Tullamore dual player John Rouse, he spoke about how Offaly's match fitness improved as the season wore on.

Even when things were going badly, Rouse remained optimistic that the wheel would turn. “I personally thought anyway that we have always put the work in and we have done enough to get this far. We had the players to do it. Thankfully all the work and training has paid off. We have worked incredibly hard during the year to get this far.”

How did Offaly find a way to win that game?

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“The boys are a credit. We have always been like that. You can only get that through hard work and dedication because Louth are a fantastic side. They have some brilliant footballers. It was a real tough game but thankfully we did enough to get over the line.”