After a string of matches in which they came close to beating some of the country's best teams, things went well for Lauren McGregor and the Waterford players last weekend.
After securing a first round win over newly promoted Kildare, the Days suffered a three-point defeat to reigning TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football champions Kerry in Carriganore on February 3.
Six days later in Pearc Tailtenna, Navan, Munster conceded just one point (2-11 to 1-13) to Meath, who won the Brendan Martin Cup twice in 2021 and 2022.
Despite drawing with Dublin, who won the 2023 All-Ireland Senior title at Parnell Park on February 23, the Dease were still looking to get back to winning ways when they faced Tyrone in Agyarana last weekend.
The visitors met the challenge with great skill as McGregor's impressive contribution, who scored 3-2, saw them to a 6-15 to 0-6 victory.
“We definitely believed the game was going to be on our side and it was just waiting for its moment. We started slowly against Meath and they were ahead at half-time. We needed to come back and in the end we couldn't get the result we needed,” McGregor said.
“It was the same with Dublin. We started strong but we couldn't finish the game. We definitely felt like we had more energy. We haven't been able to score in the last few games. We took our chances on Sunday and hopefully we can continue like that.”
After playing their first five games in six weeks, Waterford will take a long break and face Armagh at home in two weeks' time (March 22).
Reigning NFL Division One champions Armagh are currently in good form with five wins in a row and are just one point short of reaching the top flight finals again from the last two rounds.
Meanwhile, last Sunday's win over Tyrone leaves Waterford fourth in the table – four points above the relegation zone and five points behind the top two.
With some of the squad playing in college matches next week, McGregor (who represented Limerick University and Galway University in the O'Connor Cup) believes the Deyes County will benefit from a longer build-up to the Armagh game.
“It will be good for us, especially in terms of preparation for the Armagh game. They are looking great at the moment. They are very strong, so it will be a good test for us after the Tyrone game. We are looking forward to it.
“We'll be training during [the break]. We'll have this weekend off and just give the girls a little bit of a break from traveling, but we'll be back on Tuesday night.
“We'll be together and obviously the girls are playing college next weekend. We'll be missing a lot of them on the weekend, but we'll still have enough of us to keep practicing.”
McGregor, who is now one of the most experienced players in the squad, first joined the Waterford team as a teenager in 2014.
Although she featured in the early stages of the 2015 inter-county season, the Dungarvan-born striker had left the squad by the time Waterford won the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate title in late September that year.
However, she returned and played a part in the Waterford club's success in the National Football League's third division in 2016, and was also part of the team that won the NFL's second division three years later.
Since being promoted for the 2020 season, the Deise have maintained their top-flight status and have also remained in the Irish Senior Championship for the decade since that interim triumph.
“I was in the stands watching the 2015 Intermediate Division final. It was
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