Tomas Brady ready to deliver for Dublin
At 27, the man who made a big impact as a county hurler under Anthony Daly remains intent on being a mainstay for the footballers.
Injuries and an ultra competitive panel have combined, so far, to leave him just on the fringes of the real action.
A second cruciate knee ligament in June 2013 left him playing catch-up throughout 2014, limiting him to just a couple of substitute appearances in the Leinster championship.
The feeling now is that this is Brady’s big opportunity.
He has been injury-free for 14 months and got plenty of game-time in this year’s league. A key role in Sunday’s Allianz NFL Div 1 final clash with Cork is his aim.
“My first year with the footballers, 2013, I missed out on the championship, I’d just torn the cruciate and last year I was just back sort of finding my feet again,” said Brady.
“You don’t have the luxury like with other counties where you might get more of an opportunity, it’s just so competitive in Dublin that you don’t get as much game-time when you’re coming back from injury.
“But this year I’m coming with a good 14 months of training under my belt and it’s standing me in good stead.
“I probably played more football in the last few months than I have in the two years before that.”
It may help Brady’s cause that Dublin are likely to be more defensively minded this summer after being cleaned out on the break by Donegal last August.
A full-back for the Dublin hurlers, his defensive knowledge has been utilised around the half-forwards in this year’s league, offering Dublin extra support in the area.
Brady came on at wing-forward in the league semi-final defeat of Monaghan. Last Sunday, he started at midfield in a challenge match with Galway.
If he starts again on Sunday, he expects to take on a Cork side that is more defensively-minded too.
“I think they have adapted their style of play and learned a lot of lessons from the Munster final last year,” said Brady of the Rebels.
“They are not as defensive as some teams but they do bring some of their forwards back and try to break at pace. They racked up a big scoreline against Donegal in the semi-final, four goals against Donegal is a serious feat in itself.”
Brady admitted that Dublin are still getting to grips with breaking down fortified defences.
They just about shook off Derry in a painfully low scoring game and fought back to draw with Tyrone in another dour encounter.
“We’re working on it in training and trying to be creative because we knew we are going to be involved in a couple of games this summer where there’ll be 13 men behind the ball,” he said.
Dublin are likely to have their U21 players available after last weekend’s All-Ireland semi-final exit.
That means that attacker Conor McHugh may finally get his opportunity.
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