Tomás Quinn: You think Dublin's first-minute goal was simply opportunist?

Expectations among the two sets of supporters at Nowlan Park may have varied, but a common hope shared by all in the ground was we would get a competitive championship game for as long as possible. That hope lasted all of 15 seconds.

After winning the throw-in and an early delivery from Brian Fenton, Dean Rock cut inside and finished confidently to give Dublin a dream start. A goal straight from the throw-in may be rare but it wasn’t just an opportunist goal, it was effectively a set-play. While it may have looked like a straightforward delivery that Rock made the most of, Dublin would be very aware that for throw-ins, it may be one of only two occasions in the game where they will get a straight man-on-man match-up in their full-forward line.

Both corner-forwards start as wide as possible to leave space either side of Dean Rock who lined up at full forward to allow a long early delivery into the danger zone in front of goal. All Dublin forwards are aware of the opportunity and are instantly tuned in whereas the Laois backs were caught cold.

The ball was nestling in their net before the realised what had happened.

It was a classy finish from Rock, who went on to give an exhibition of scoring. He had 11 shots which resulted in 1-10. Dean has been a key forward in this team for the last num- ber of years but he doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

Some of his team-mates may produce flashier moments but the consistency of what Rock delivers is a high level skill in itself. He doesn’t have the lightning pace of a Connolly or Mannion, but his movement and positioning is excellent.

Nearly every forward in the Dublin squad is extremely comfortable kicking off either foot and while Dean is capable with his left foot, he rarely puts himself into a situation where he needs to use it. His ability to time his looped runs from the full-forward line to accept passes from Dublin runners, paired with his understanding of space and how much room he needs to get a shot off, allow him to take high percentage shots.

Rarely will you see him take a rushed shot or look to force an attempt under pressure.

So while the result was never in doubt Saturday night, it was interesting to examine how Dublin look to evolve and continue to innovate their game. A key lesson from the last time they were looking to retain an All Ireland in 2014 was that the game plan had to shift up a gear. The existing template may be enough to beat the majority of teams but there needs to be new wrinkles added to ensure the main challengers coming down the road are preparing for different aspects of their system.

At times Dublin were sloppy in facets of the game, particularly in the second half but we also saw glimpses of how exactly they are looking to break teams down. We know all about the willingness of the runners from deep, but the width in their forward line and angles of attack also limit the effectiveness of a mass defence against them.

A first-half Diarmuid Connolly point was an excellent example of this. After some patient build-up and an excellent popped pass into the full forward line, Connolly, who started his run close to the sideline, burst in at an angle at speed going at the goal to receive a handpass before picking off an excellent score. These moves are more likely to create the kind of openings Dublin are looking for.