From swan to scavenger

Never — not even in his 2010 footballer of the year season — has Bernard Brogan started the championship in such ominous scoring fettle as he did last Sunday.

Hitting Louth for 2-5 beat his previous best of 2-4 against Wexford two years ago but that included extra-time when he scored his second goal.

The thing is he was supposed to be rusty. With only a Railway Cup semi-final as competitive fare to his credit, outside the club this year after a trip to Australia and shoulder and knee injuries, not much was expected from him.