Liam Rafferty found himself in a quandary last year as he looked around at the men competing for his position.
The Galbally man was a rising star in 2020 — Mickey Harte’s final year with Tyrone — playing in the League and making his Championship debut in the Ulster quarter-final defeat by Donegal.
Rafferty caught the eye as an attack-minded defender with an ability to pop up in the right place at the right time and punish the opposition with a score.
But just when you expected him to push on and become a Tyrone regular, Rafferty fell off the radar.
He struggled to make the 26-man Championship match day squads under new managers Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher.
Dooher and Logan had their own take on Rafferty, viewing him as a half-forward, and the latest in a long line of versatile Tyrone footballers.
Rafferty’s story shows though that modern day inter-county managers can be approachable and flexible and not the dictators some view them as.
“Brian and Feargal saw me as a half-forward last year,” he says.
“I don’t feel that was a good position for me, especially trying to make the team, because you’re up against the likes of Conor Meyler, Kieran McGeary — Player of the Year nominations.
“I felt that the team was very difficult to make in the forward line.
“I think I struggled to adjust to that. It’s a different game. You need seriously high fitness levels, and you’re working all the time.
“It took me a while to adjust. I did eventually adjust to it, but I feel that I’m better coming on to the ball.
“I’d be quite versatile. I do feel that I’m a better defender than a forward. I can offer more as a defender for Tyrone than being a forward.
“I spoke to Brian and Feargal, and sorta persuaded them to move me into the back line, to give me a go at it. It has been going all right so far.”
The higher the level of football, the more Rafferty has found himself playing in defence, and that’s where he started against Monaghan and Armagh in this year’s Division One campaign.
“I would have played a lot of my university football in the full-back line, marking the marquee forwards in Sigerson,” he continued.
“It’s just a position I felt I was probably better at, but it’s still something that I want to keep improving, the defensive aspect of my game.
“I didn’t really know where my best position was.
“I would be playing corner-back for Tyrone and then the next week with Galbally I would be playing corner-forward.
“It was difficult to manage that, but there were pros and cons to it, because when I go to being a forward I would know what a defender hates.
“I would be a defender, but I do enjoy getting up the field for a score.
“I would play forward for my club, but I’m probably a better defender coming on to the ball.”
Rafferty reckons he didn’t give football his full focus last year, having been a regular in 2020.
“In the 2020 season I had a great year, played every game and was going well,” he says. “Then the new management came in, and personally I wasn’t on top of my game.
“I wasn’t playing well, as well as I should have in training. I don’t think I gave football as much focus as I did in previous years.
“I feel I was focusing on a lot of things outside of football, and I have now put those things to the side. I wanted to put that right this year, and try to get back on to the team and be a regular player.
“It’s tough sitting on the bench and not getting game time, and I hope I can get a few more chances this year to try to earn the jersey.”
Rafferty should get another opportunity this weekend against Kildare at Omagh — even though he was taken off at half-time in the recent defeat by Armagh at the Athletic Grounds.
Tyrone are likely to be without suspended quartet Kieran McGeary, Padraig Hampsey, Michael McKernan and Peter Harte, unless they appeal their bans in the coming days and are successful.
All four occupy defensive roles. This leaves them down to the bare bones at the back.
“We have excellent depth in the squad,” said Rafferty. “Some lads may get the opportunity to put on the jersey, and they’ll be buzzing.
“I would have no worries about who’s going to come in and replace men. It’s going to be the usual job. We all know what our roles are, and the boys coming in will know exactly what they’re required to do.
“It’s a must-win game. We haven’t won a game yet this year, and we need to get off the bottom of the table. We’re second from bottom.
“We had a poor performance against Armagh, and we need to put that right against Kildare.”
