Diarmuid O'Flynn
FIVE QUESTIONS ON DUBLIN
What has Anthony Daly brought to the Dublin scene? He has brought organisation, intelligence (never to be underestimated in hurling), modern methods, all the nuts and bolts, but above all he’s brought with him from his days in Clare an inner belief, a steely resolve. Not for Anthony Daly any kind of patronising talk, not for Anthony Daly any sort of compensation that even in a year such as this, when Dublin won the Allianz Hurling League for the first time since the late 30s, reached the All-Ireland semi-final, he can celebrate. He’s a winner and even in an era of great teams nothing less than an All-Ireland title will satisfy him. Anyone on the Dublin panel who doesn’t share that hunger, that belief, that steely resolve, will soon find himself a spectator.
What is their greatest strength at the moment? Their fitness and their physicality. That won’t be music to anyone’s ears in Dublin but it’s a fact of modern hurling life that if you can’t match the likes of Kilkenny and Tipperary in the physical stakes you're wasting your time. It takes years in the gym to build that power, and Dublin have done that. They have hurlers galore, their touch is good, their decision-making has really improved as the year has progressed, but they’re still lacking a couple of killer forwards up front. They make up for that lack with their fitness and strength, their workrate throughout the field.
Have they the best underage production line in the country? Beginning to look like that but looks are all it is at the moment. Until they start winning All-Ireland titles – and they’ve yet to make that breakthrough at either minor or U-21 – Kilkenny are still the kingpins, with the likes of Galway and Tipperary also still ahead of them. This year looks very promising for Dublin, the minors already in the All-Ireland final with at least six guys who look destined for success at senior level, while the U-21s will be hotly fancied this weekend against Antrim in the U-21 semi-final. A win in either of those championships would be a great boost, a win in both and watch out!
What does this season's success mean to hurling? The only success of real note Dublin had was in the Allianz Hurling League; the Walsh Cup, while it gave them an early-season fillip, is just that, an early season competition, a warmer-upper. The league was a big win for them, albeit it too is a secondary competition, and they did face a Kilkenny team shorn of several of its biggest stars. Still, in a very competitive eight-team league Dublin did what they had to do to qualify for the final, in fact would have qualified a lot easier had their shooting been better (it improved dramatically by championship time), did what they had to also in the final when walloping that weakened Kilkenny team by 12 points. That success was a pointer, that Dublin are now a genuine top team, and it propelled them past Galway in the Leinster semi-final, another big win. But it’s a start, that’s all.
Will Dublin win an All-Ireland in the next five years? Short answer, yes, but the breakthrough will probably come at underage first. They’re competitive at the moment, the third-rated team in the country, and when the three injured players come back to that defence they’re going to be a very difficult team to break down, a difficult team against which to score – that’s a great basis on which to start. Midfield too they’ll have options, likewise in the half-forward line where they have enough strong men to compete for ball in the air or on the ground. Free-taking, they have an excellent marksman in Paul Ryan. Up front, however, they need an assassin or two, too easy for opposing defenders to focus and double-gang on Ryan O'Dwyer and Dotsy O'Callaghan at the moment. Costello, Kilkenny, Ó Conghaile - Anthony will be keeping a very close eye on those guys!
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/taYQMZ3afmY/post.aspx
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