Dean Rock urges GAA to tackle scourge of diving in Gaelic football

Dean Rock believes GAA officials need to address simulation in Gaelic football, with the Dublin forward saying a culture of players diving has become more prevalent in the game.

There have been several incidents already during the league where footballers exaggerated the impact of tackles and appeared to go down rather easily, generating debate on whether players are feigning injury in an attempt to get opponents booked or sent off.

“I think it’s definitely crept into the game,” said Rock. “It’s not something we do, maybe we are too honest or too naive, I don’t know. But it’s certainly becoming a problem in Gaelic football.

“Like, just the amount of free counts for one team compared to the other, across the board in most games, is through the roof. So it is certainly something that is prevalent in the game, it’s not a good thing for the game, it’s not good for young kids looking in and seeing this, any sort of touch and fellahs going down.

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“I think players themselves have an accountability to not adhere to that behaviour. It’s something that myself or any of the lads on our team wouldn’t condone, I don’t think we see too many Dublin players going down or trying to buy frees or win frees too often.

“It’s certainly something that probably needs to be addressed by the powers that be, because it’s difficult for referees when the game is so fast. It’s certainly an issue that needs to be looked at.”

[ Limerick boss John Kiely apologises to Galway for diving accusations ]

[ ‘Now we’re the ones chasing the rest’: Dean Rock relishing new Dublin challenge ]

There have been suggestions that booking players for diving might help reverse the trend, but it remains to be seen if Croke Park disciplinary officials will actively pursue a policy of zero tolerance on the issue.

Either way, by highlighting the scourge of simulation during the league, Rock hopes it will have forced it back to the shadows when the championships throws in.

“It’s kind of embarrassing really if you are behaving in that manner,” he added. “It’s a personal decision, like, it’s up to yourself, but it wouldn’t be something that I would do, don’t think I have ever done it, don’t think many of the players on our team have ever done it.

“And that’s all you can do, look after your own ship and let the powers that be sort it out themselves.

“It probably is worrying times at the moment, because there are more cases each week that you are seeing of this. Hopefully it is stamped out between now and the championship.”

Off the field, he has been adjusting to life as a father. Rock and Niamh McEvoy, herself a former Dublin footballer, became parents to baby Sadie last August. Rock’s move to fatherhood doubled the number of players on the Dublin panel with children, as John Small is the only other dad in the squad.

Not that the major life-changing event ever had Rock contemplating retirement.

“No, not at all. I’m sleeping more now than I’ve ever slept,” he smiled. “Touch wood on that one, because I don’t know if that’ll last forever.

“No, obviously Niamh is extremely supportive and it’s great. When you have kids, you definitely have a different outlook on life, a different perspective. Football is a massive part of it. I’m 33 now, still feel great.

“I know James [McCarthy] is the same. He was 33 four days after me. We’re both feeling good and looking forward to the season ahead.

“It’s a quick year, potentially, hopefully there’s another 17 weeks left in the season or something like that, so it goes by very quickly. I’ll certainly play football for as long as I possibly can because I’m still enjoying it and we’ll see where it takes me.”

Dublin fans hope the return of Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion can take them back up the steps of the Hogan Stand this summer. Mannion is still working his way back to full fitness from an ankle injury, while Rock’s Ballymun clubmate Evan Comerford has missed all the season so far as he recovers from groin surgery.

[ Brendan Rogers wins it at the death for Derry as they come back to beat Dublin ]

Dublin’s form in Division Two of the National League hasn’t yet suggested they are about to wrestle Sam away from Kerry. Indeed, there is an acceptance, outside the group, that Dublin’s aura of invincibility has melted away, though within the dressingroom the players retain massive self-belief.

“You always feel like we are going to win every game we play, and I don’t think that has changed,” added Rock.

“We’d still have a huge amount of confidence in the team and the group. It might not be clicking as much as we’d like at the moment, but we certainly know it’s still there and it still exists.

“The aura thing, I know from the outside people might have said ‘Jesus, Dublin this machine’ or whatever back in the day. But I don’t think we ever bought into that as a group, we’re just happy to play our football and try to get better with every game.

“We are in Division Two, so lads aren’t stupid. We obviously know our ceiling is a lot higher than we’ve hit at the moment, we’ve got loads of room for improvement and that’s all we are trying to do.

“You see Liverpool the other day, two weeks ago they were finished and stuff, and then they came back and beat United 7-0. So, in sport and in life things can change very quickly, and we’ve got the personnel there in both players and management that can certainly get things going, so we are very confident about the season ahead. I don’t think we are in a transition period.”

– Dean Rock was speaking at the launch of AIG’s 10th year sponsoring Dublin GAA.