Daly happy with squad despite defection of Brady

Whatever about young dual stars such as Ciaran Kilkenny and Cormack Costello opting for the big ball, the decision by one of his most established and seasoned players, defender Tomas Brady, to turn his back on hurling this year came as a major blow to Dublin manager Anthony Daly.

“Yeah, I got a bit of shock when Tomas rang me. I just didn’t see it coming. I knew with the younger lads it’d be a battle. The big thing with younger lads when they’re out of minor is the first competition of significance for the year is the U-21 football All-Ireland coming straight down your throat. There’s a fierce temptation.

“In fairness, we have Glenn Whelan on both panels at the moment and Dessie Farrell has been very cooperative that way, we’ve allowed him to do a night with each and they’ve been happy enough to do that as well. They’re playing tonight and I wish him the best of luck in that.