AS they prepare for the long journey down to Killarney this week for the INDO Inter Counties championships, reigning men's champions Donegal are well aware they are the team with a target on their backs.
Aiming for what would be three-in-a-row if they retain the title again this year, Donegal's team captain Cartha Boyle says staying ahead of the chasing pack is all the motivation they need.
"It would be nice to win the three-in-a-row this year but realistically there are a lot of very good teams around now who will be looking to win it too, so it isn't easy," Cartha told Darts In Ireland.
It helps that Donegal are coming into this championships in winning form, having recently added the West Coast Challenge title to their growing list of accolades only last month.
Cartha said: "It was great for us to win the West Coast in Limerick this year as we got knocked out in the quarter finals last year, so we wanted to put that straight this time around and thankfully we did."
With a team packed full of players with championship winning experience behind them, Donegal also have last year's INDO B Inter Counties singles champion, Derek Gallagher, and Jason Pattersons added to their ranks.
Cartha added: "It's great for us to have Derek and Jason this year, as they are two very good players who probably should have been in the squad last year too.
"It shows how we are picking from the cream of the crop and are able to add to our squad from a position of strength, which is a great position to be in.
"So we're confident we can go all the way again, but it's a long weekend with many games and over the last two years we had to come through some very tough games in the last 16 stage against Offaly and then Sligo, and then we went on from there to win it. It shows that you have to be on top of your game all the time and we don't take that for granted."
The Donegal ladies team are also looking like strong contenders this year, having recently made it to the final of the West Coast Challenge.
They have Irish World Cup winning star Denise Cassidy amongst their ranks, and she is confident they can go far into the competition.
Denise said: "We have a good strong team. We done well last year, getting to the final but unfortunately we lost that to a good Dublin side.
"We are all confident and happy that we are ready for the Inter Counties and are really looking forward to it."
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