Newton won't ask too much of young Rossie stars

ROSCOMMON manager Des Newton sang the praises of Padraig Pearses stalwart Niall Daly following his Allianz NFL Division 3 debut against Tipperary at Kiltoom last Sunday, but also urged caution after the attack-minded centre half-back produced a man-of-the-match display in the 1-12 to 0-12 victory over the Premier County. Daly has had a most successful year, winning both the Roscommon IFC title with Padraig Pearses, and the Cork SFC with UCC, and looks to have a promising career ahead in the primrose and blue jersey. He'll be hoping to build on his sterling start to his Roscommon senior career when the Rossies' take on Offaly in the second game of the Division 3 campaign on Sunday (O'Connor Park, Tullamore, 2.30pm), but manager Newton has asked supporters not to expect too much too soon from Daly. "To be honest, Niall is one of the players I didn't know too well before I took the Roscommon job. He's been playing at a very high standard with UCC over the past seven or eight months. He enjoys his football, likes to come forward from defence, and has a lot going for him. He's developed well physically, but we also have to remember Niall is still under-21, and we have to be careful with him. It's important he's managed right and that we don't ask too much of him straight away. We're going to need him further down the road, so will probably dip him in and out of the team when the time suits, and take a cautious approach with his development. "The same goes for some of the other younger lads, the likes of Ciaran Cafferky and Colin Compton. But there's plenty to be positive about, in terms of younger players coming through in Roscommon. I think only three or four of the team against Tipperary were over 26/27 years of age, and there's lot of potential there," said Newton. While complementing the younger brigade on show last Sunday, Newtown also pointed to the "invaluable" contribution of his more experienced campaigners. "It's very important to have the likes of Ger Henaghan and John Rogers in there. They're very good role models for the younger lads, who can learn an awful lot from them," said Newton. Roscommon continue to be without the St Brigid's contingent for the Offaly match, but Newton is hoping to pick from the same 27-strong panel he used last weekend. Darren McDermott (Castlerea St Kevin's) is an injury doubt with a shoulder knock picked up late in last weekend's win over Tipperary, but Colin Compton is expected to come back into the reckoning. Sunday's opposition, Offaly, got their Division 3 campaign off to a disappointing start when losing 2-15 to 0-8 against Longford, but Newton won't be taking the Faithful County for granted. "Another win would be great for us, and winning our opening game has given us a positive platform on which to build," said Newton. "I'm very happy with what the lads have been doing over the past five or six weeks, and the honesty of their effort is fantastic. But I'm long enough in the tooth to realise Offaly will be looking to bounce back, and to be fair to Offaly, they've often shown an ability to bounce back from bad results in the past. We also have an awful lot of improvement to do, and hold Offaly football in the highest regard," added Newton.