Barney Rock: Injuries, not Ger Brennan suspension, more damaging to Dubs

Louth may not have beaten Dublin in championship in 53 years but Rock installs them as favourites for Leinster.

Dublin's Colm Basquel and Cian Deering of Wicklow. Pic: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

Dublin’s litany of injuries, not manager Ger Brennan’s suspension, is the biggest threat to their season, according to county great Barney Rock.

Dublin struggled past Wicklow in Sunday’s Leinster quarter-final and face the reigning Leinster champions Louth on Saturday week.

Captain Con O’Callaghan and Colm Basquel are facing a race against time to be fit for the game in Portlaoise having suffered injuries in Aughrim.

Rock feels those setbacks on top of other injury concerns like Ciarán Kilkenny, Luke Breathnach, Theo Clancy and Lee Gannon are potentially more damaging than the absence of Brennan, who has been temporarily replaced by coach and selector, Rock’s son Dean.

“I think the biggest problem for Dublin's impact is the amount of injuries we have,” Rock said at the launch of the 25th annual Circet All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge. “You've got Con who went off injured with a hamstring. You have also Basquel who went off with a hamstring. Two All-Star forwards who haven't played that much over the last six months because of being injured.

“You have Lee Gannon who has a hamstring injury. And then all of a sudden you've got Theo Clancy. So you've got about six fellas on the Dublin squad that are out.

“And I reckon that if we had those six fellas in, we would be in a better position than we are because when you look at the team over the last 10 years, what was happening when Jim Gavin was involved, he was able to introduce two or three lads in the Leinster campaign to go with a good, steady team that he had.

“And when you introduce two or three, it's grand into an already tough and hardened team. But now all of a sudden what's happening is we're introducing an awful lot of new lads in and they're left to carry the can at the minute.” 

Rock doesn’t believe Brennan’s 12-week and two-game suspension, which was confirmed the day before the Wicklow game, had an impact on the team.

“I think they knew things were coming down the line, that something was going to happen. It was there and they probably presumed this at the worst cost.

Con O'Callaghan of Dublin after the Aughrim clash with Wicklow. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

“The sense was that Ger was going to get 12 weeks. Which is, I won't say a funny rule, rules are rules. But to get a seven or eight-match suspension and not be able to do anything is probably a very severe rule. When you consider you could be sent off and you might get one match. Something like that as a player.

“But then the rules are the rules, everybody knew about it. It's just unfortunate that what happened at Galway happened. I know Ger put his hands straight up and said it shouldn't have happened. We all do things that we regret and I'm sure that is a regret for him.” 

Rock stresses his son Dean is only minding the position while Brennan is banned. 

“Listen, it's only a figurehead. They're just trying to run with it and see what happens.

“And it's not about a manager, it's about the combination of a lot of people nowadays. Back in our day with Kevin Heffernan and that, Kevin was the manager, and Tony Hanahoe was a selector with the others, but now the manager is only just a flagship.”

Louth may not have beaten Dublin in championship in 53 years but Rock installs them as favourites for the Leinster championship.

“Listen, it's a situation that the pressure will be on Louth in many ways because Louth are Leinster champions and from Dublin's point of view is that Dublin will see it as an opportunity. We'll probably go into that game underdogs.”