Wexford Eagles close out year with plate final victory

Sixteen players. One last game. Zero regrets…

The Wexford Eagles didn’t end their season where they thought they would, but they ended it the right way. With a controlled, courageous 18–6 win over the Northwest Vipers at the National Sports Campus in Dublin, the Eagles closed the book on 2025 by doing what they’ve done all season: showing up, playing tough, and giving everything they had.

This wasn’t the playoffs. It wasn’t a championship. But it was a statement. And it mattered.

The Playoff That Slipped Away

By record and performance, the Eagles had earned a playoff spot. A 4–4 finish. A head-to-head advantage over the Cill Dars Crusaders. One of the toughest schedules in Division 1.

But a late-season league ruling, a one-point deduction after a weather-forced postponement and failed rescheduling attempts, dropped them to fifth. Just outside the line. A technicality, not a failing.

“I’d have loved another shot at the Louth Mavericks,” said Head Coach Ross McCooey. “But we weren’t going to let that define our season. We put it behind us and focused on what was still in our control.”

That started with the Plate Final and the chance to finish with purpose.

They weren’t carrying regrets into this game. They were carrying momentum and a point to prove. Not about what might’ve been, but about what they had become.

Old Rivals, Familiar Ground

This wasn’t just any Plate Final. This was another chapter in one of Wexford’s most quietly bitter rivalries.

The Vipers and the Eagles go back years. From recent wins to old grudges, it’s a matchup charged with history. And the ghosts still whisper from 2016, the IAFL2 Bowl, played on the very same pitch. A last-second Hail Mary. A heartbreaker. The Vipers’ only win in the series. The kind of wound that lingers.

This time, there would be no miracle. Only a measured, earned win.

Outnumbered, Not Outplayed

The Vipers brought 23 players to the Sport Ireland HQ. The Eagles brought 16. It was fitting. This team has been short-handed all season but never short on fight.

Quarterback Doran Traylor opened the scoring in the second quarter, bursting through a lane and sprinting 40 yards to the end zone. Wexford took a 6–0 lead into halftime, looking composed and in control.

But the second half began with a scare.

Just three plays in, Traylor went down clutching his knee. A sprain, it turned out. He would return, but in the meantime, Trevor Smith calmly stepped in at quarterback.

The captain. The ironman. The heartbeat of this team.

“We just keep going,” Smith said. “That’s all we’ve done this year. No complaints. No excuses. Just football.”

Carey Explodes, Defence Closes the Door

Shortly after the switch at QB, running back Terry Carey broke the game open. A perfectly timed cut and a crushing downfield block by none other than rampaging Captain Paddy Bissett, opened the edge, and Carey was gone, 48 yards untouched for the score. 12–0.

The Vipers answered with a touchdown of their own to make it 12–6, but Wexford’s defence held firm. Defensive end Mick Doyle turned the tide with a strip sack, setting the tone for a relentless final quarter.

Then, fittingly, it was Smith who sealed it.

First, a fourth-quarter interception, his fourth of the season. Then, a fumble recovery minutes later to end the Vipers’ hopes for good.

In the build-up to the game, Smith said the team would “make sure we earn the one we can.” Fitting, then, that it was his hands on the ball when it finally slipped free. One more takeaway. One more full stop.

Between those two moments, Carey added a second touchdown, a 12-yard run that made it 18–6 and untouchable.

“Trevor’s a freak,” Carey said postgame. “He never stops. Offence, defence, special teams and somehow still leading. He deserves every bit of this.”

A Win That Meant More

The trophy says “Plate”, but the win goes deeper than silverware.

This season was about something bigger. Changing the mindset. Raising the bar. Laying a foundation for the future.

“We knew from the start we wanted to do things differently this year,” said McCooey. “Not just play better. Be better. Better prep. Better structure. Better attitude. And I think we’ve done that. That’s the real win.”

This wasn’t about salvaging a season. It was about cementing one. The toughest schedule in Division 1 didn’t break them, it hardened them. They didn’t just bounce back from adversity. They arrived, together, with purpose.

They’ve done it with homegrown talent, hungry rookies, and a coaching staff that refused to let setbacks define them. And now they have proof of what they’re building.

And amidst the celebration, one quiet goodbye.

Paddy de Brún, an original Eagle and the club’s longest-serving offensive lineman, laced up his cleats one final time on Sunday. From the very first snap in the club’s inaugural season to the final whistle of today’s Plate Final, de Brún has been a constant, steady, selfless, and fiercely loyal. Through wins, losses, rebuilds, and road trips, he anchored a line that often played thankless football. But those who know, know.

“He’s everything this club stands for,” said Smith. “Hard work, humility, and heart. We all learned from him.”

His final performance was vintage de Brún quiet dominance in the trenches, clearing lanes and protecting a rotating cast of quarterbacks without complaint. He walks away on his own terms, head high, boots worn, legacy intact.

Wexford’s future may be rising but it was built on shoulders like his.

Legacy Starts Here

No fireworks. No grand speeches. Just sixteen men, shoulder to shoulder, walking off a national field with quiet satisfaction.

They didn’t win a championship. But they built something that just might lead to one.

Because for the Wexford Eagles, the story of 2025 isn’t just about how it ended. It’s about what it started.

Forget the detour. This wasn’t recovery. This was arrival.

(Images: Vlad Vasilescu)

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