With the Donegal senior football championship to swing into action on Saturday-week, Declan Bonner and his backroom team will be keeping their eyes peeled in the hope of unearthing some new blood for the county ranks.
High profile retirements are not anticipated from the Donegal squad at this time, but Bonner will be looking to freshen up his ranks.
Here’s a look at five players who could make a big impact in 2019 …
Kieran Gillespie
It is perhaps odd that a man who made his senior inter-county debut almost three years ago is on this list, but Kieran Gillespie has had a torrid time of it with injury in the last couple of years.
Owing to two operations to correct hip injuries, Gillespie played no football for Donegal in 2018.
The Gaoth Dobhair man played eight times for Donegal in 2016, including five Championship appearances. He started that summer’s Ulster final against Tyrone having made his debut against Fermanagh in the McKenna Cup.
Gillespie, who has won Ulster titles all the way from U16 to U21 with Donegal, made three Championship appearances in the 2017 Championship (two as a sub) before being dogged by a hip ailment.
Gillespie is back lining out for Gaoth Dobhair again – and is a cert to be high on Bonner’s plans for 2019.
Jason McGee
Jason McGee tries to slow the progress of Meath’s James McEntee during the 2017 qualifier. Photo Evan Logan
In March, having made just one substitute appearance – against Kerry in the opening game – in the Allianz League, Jason McGee elected to throw his lot in with the Donegal Under-20s.
The Cloughaneely man started all five of Donegal’s Championship games in 2017 and had featured prominently throughout the League last year.
Injury troubled his start to 2018 but, with the U20 campaign now behind him, McGee – who has an Australian Rules trial last year – is likely to be restored to the senior panel over the winter months.
Conor Morrison
St Eunan’s corner-back Conor Morrison, who had just two McKenna Cup games as senior inter-county experience before 2018, started this year’s McKenna Cup final win over Tyrone.
And Morrison was in again for the Allianz League games against Tyrone and Monaghan.
Morrison got an outing in the League game against Mayo in Ballybofey, as a replacement, but didn’t feature during the Championship.
Daire Ó Baoill
Gaoth Dobhair’s versatile Daire Ó Baoill, who has not yet started a League or Championship game for Donegal, is earmarked as a player with big potential by Donegal manager Declan Bonner.
That can be proven with the fact that Ó Baoill – with only a solitary substitute’s appearance in the League to his name, was sent into battle five times from the bench during the 2018 Championship.
Ó Baoill is a former Finn Harps senior panellist who will be all the stronger for the experiences next year.
Niall O’Donnell
Like Jason McGee, St Eunan’s attacker Niall O’Donnell opted to give his priority to the Donegal Under-20s this year. O’Donnell, though, played a part in all seven Allianz League games, starting the final two against Monaghan and Mayo.
O’Donnell scored three points against Armagh in the McKenna Cup semi-final and hit a similar tally against Tyrone in the final.
O’Donnell was red hot, scoring 1-12, as Donegal hammered Cavan in their opening U20 Championship game.
After a disappointing loss to Derry, O’Donnell went back to the senior fold – and scored a point off the bench in the Super 8 game against Tyrone.
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