Abbey Seals Dublin Lions’ Nacho Folgueiras Campos, Tara Nevin, Emily Smyth and Russ Marr
Photo by ©INPHO/Tom Maher
Total squad overhaul at Dublin Lions
DUBLIN Lions are set for the upcoming season in the national league after performing a total squad overhaul over the summer with the team only keeping four players who were part of last year’s squad.
The team travel to Donegal this weekend to take on Team Northwest in their opening fixture of the campaign.
This followed a poor previous year from the club which saw them finish sixth in the north conference last year.
Manager Robbie White touched on the need for such a drastic overhaul.
“It’s still not complete and definitely a work in progress but I think it’s easier to change the culture when you have so many new faces rather than trying to change with lads who have already been there.
‘I think people got comfortable in their position and where they were playing and didn’t really have to work hard.
‘We have a very good group now and they are very intense. Nobody is relaxed and thinking that they are 100% going to play.”
Another aspect the Lions wish to improve on is to make use of their youth which they have historically been known for.
This will play into the favour with new rules recently implemented by Basketball Ireland where two Irish players must remain on the court at all times.
This will be of benefit to teams such as the Dublin Lions and is aimed to prevent clubs from hiring professionals from overseas to join their ranks, overriding the number of local grown talent who are actually playing the game.
Robbie White elaborated on the importance of young players in the Irish game.
“It’s huge, we were always a big advocate for that.
‘With social media as well a lot of kids emigrate now to play professionally from other countries.
‘You can have three or four of these playing on each team in the Irish leagues and it’s not good for the Irish kids. We need to put a big emphasis on getting them kids playing.”
Overall the sentiment heading into the new season is a positive one.
“From a club point of view we’re very excited. We’ve a very good underage girls base coming through who were very competitive last season.
‘From a men’s point of view we’ll be excited and hopeful without setting huge goals.
‘We just want to see where we go. We’re a good team.
‘It’s similar with the women who will definitely be looking at getting a bit of momentum going over the last few years. Overall it’s just excited about the future.”
