Brogan: Dubs canmix it with the best
They have learned from a series of hard knocks, and put in the necessary investment of extra gym time to equip them to better compete at a physical level, while Paul Caffrey has continually sought to strengthen his squad along the way.
They are still only at the quarter-final stage, lining up against Tyrone today and bidding to reach the last four for the third successive year. But that doesn’t stop them from dreaming, from clinging to the hope that this could prove to be their year.
Team captain Alan Brogan is happy to think that they are ‘probably in a better place’ than they were this time last year, when they defeated Derry and lost to Kerry in the semi-final. “No stone has been left unturned. If we do get to an All-Ireland final — or, please God, win one — it will be one of the most hard-won, because it would be the culmination of five or six years work,” he says.
“We have won the last four Leinster titles; the problem has been making that step up to the next level. We have invested a lot of time and energy in talking about how to make that step. Time will tell if we can. Beating one of the top three or four teams has posed a problem for us in the past, but we think we are at the level now where we can compete.”
Commenting that the change of dates merely meant a re-adjustment of their training schedule, the extra week has had a positive advantage in giving Brogan’s brother Bernard and Stephen O’Shaughnessy more time to recover from recent injuries.
They were ‘happy’ to draw Tyrone and while it gives them the opportunity ‘for a bit of retribution’, Brogan says what happened in 2005 — when Dublin lost after in a replay — is immaterial at this stage.
“That’s in the past now and guys are only worried about what’s happening going forward.”
Agreeing that Tyrone’s form would suggest that they haven’t been playing ‘that well’ recently, he has no doubt that the game represents a very tough challenge for them.
“We’re not foolish enough to fall into that trap,” he says. “We know that on any given day Tyrone are capable of beating any team in the country. We’ll be very wary.
“We are a bit more experienced. We have taken a few hard knocks over the last couple of years, including against Tyrone three years ago. From that point of view all that stuff stands in our favour and we’d be hoping to use that to our advantage. It’s going to take every bit of experience and every bit of craft and guile to overcome Tyrone.”
He has little recollection of the drawn game in 2005, and apart from the fact that they lost the second day, he had the added misfortune to be forced off with an ankle injury late in the first half.
“There were so many ups and downs in the two games . . . It was a real roller-coaster. And I don’t see it being any different next Saturday.”
In terms of where Dublin are at now, Brogan says they learned a lot from their games with Armagh (in 2002) and Tyrone in regard to how they needed to improve upper body strength if they were to compete on a more equitable basis.
Dublin have also learned to cope with all the pressures associated with playing with the county. It helped them to ignore the criticism after their Leinster semi-final win over Westmeath, and to ignore some of the rave reviews they received after their 23-point win in the Leinster final. “We put in a good performance against Wexford and people were talking about us winning the All-Ireland championship. It’s something we are used to dealing with at this stage. We are not worried about pressures from the outside — only worried about what’s going on in the camp.”
Nonetheless, Brogan agrees it is reassuring to know that they can perform to the level they did reach.
“Obviously when you produce a good performance it breeds confidence, especially up front. We have been clicking nicely. The forwards have a nice bit of confidence about them. And that can only help.”
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