Dublin's challengers will have them in their sights

Fintan O’Toole

They celebrated in style and after a barren 16 years few would begrudge them.

When the Dublin footballers finally got their hands on Sam Maguire last September it was inevitable that they would savour the success over the winter months.

But the whispers soon began asking whether Dublin would be able to rein in the joyous recollection of their 2011 achievement in time for the 2012 campaign. They had climbed to the summit yet did that mean their appetites were sated?

An indifferent league campaign means the true picture of Dublin has still to be revealed this year but it is only in the championship arena that they will be properly judged. Next Sunday’s Leinster opener against Louth will offer the first glimpses of what condition Pat Gilroy’s men are currently in.

The manager appears to be making every effort to ensure they are correctly calibrated for the defence of their title. The tone Gilroy adopted when speaking this week smacked of a man who has not lost sight of the principles that ensured Dublin became All-Ireland champions. Organising their team holiday before Christmas assisted their fitness work in the early months of the year and placing the famed canister in cold storage in February ensured it would not become a distraction.

Any concerns about the lack of game time undertaken by key men like Alan and Bernard Brogan were assuaged as well. The fate of defending champions Tyrone in 2006, Kerry in 2010 and Cork in 2011 has proven instructive. No team can afford to be drained of several stars in the summer. The fitness concerns over the Brogan brothers in the spring needed to be nipped in the bud there and then. Gilroy has sought to do that by allowing them time to recover in the hope that they will be well come the summer showdowns.

In addition Colm Cooper’s remark recently that he needed a mental break as much as a physical break after Dr Crokes All-Ireland semi-final defeat in February, could easily have applied to the Brogans.

The recent All-Ireland success of Jim Gavin’s U21 side was a further boost to Gilroy’s squad. Rory O’Carroll and James McCarthy were the picks of the crop from 2010 while there are high hopes Jack McCaffrey from the 2012 batch can add another dynamic dimension to their half-back play, Emmett Ó Conghaile will in time be a midfield powerhouse and Ciarán Kilkenny, once his Leaving Cert commitments have abated, can be another scoring weapon in attack.

But their development will take time and while Kilkenny in particular is a stellar talent, the progression from U21 in spring to senior in summer will need to be rapid.

There are other issues for Dublin to contend with. Hunger will be a key one. The pain they felt after the pummelling at the hands of Kerry in 2009 and being pipped by Cork in 2010 helped fuel their thirst for success last summer. What will motivate them now? As Cork discovered last summer against a fiercely determined Mayo outfit, attempting to regain that level of drive is extremely difficult.

There were signs of lethargy in Dublin’s play during the league, most strikingly against Down in Newry and Mayo in Castlebar. On both occasions Gilroy did not spare his players in his post-match criticism where he pinpointed a glaring lack of intensity in their performances. The assumption is he will have addressed that in the interim and it is better for those shortcomings to become apparent earlier rather than later in a year.

The standard of opposition Dublin will face is also salient. The side they vanquished last September will certainly be in contention, irrespective of Kerry’s flat display against Tipperary last Sunday and how they fare against Cork on Sunday week. Their opponents in that Páirc Uí Chaoimh tie should pose a stronger challenge this year with more of their players on the pitch than on the treatment table and a sense of annoyance within their squad at how meekly they bowed out in that quarter-final against Mayo last August.

Within their own provincial boundaries, Kildare will pose a significant threat to Dublin. Given this could be the final throw of the dice in Kieran McGeeney’s reign, the stakes have been raised considerably and the level of performance they produced in streaking clear of Tyrone in the Division 2 final indicated that their squad recognises that. Having scratched their silverware itch in the league, Kildare will be eager to do likewise in the Leinster championship.

Tyrone would have hoped to mount a fierce assault this season but luckless injuries look to have complicated matters for them once more. Mayo and Donegal may be still just off an All-Ireland winning side but both are the type of outfits that could easily reach the last four and bring a reigning champions campaign to an end. These are challenges Dublin will know they have to meet. The tricky part will be doing just that.

 

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/_expm7mNHUo/post.aspx

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