Rock focused on retaining starting role for Dublin

Dean Rock

doesn’t take these things lightly, nor does he imagine they come cheaply. Saturday night in Croke Park ended with seven points against his name three of them from play.

He wasn't the night's shining star – Paddy Andrews couldn't be ignored on that score – but it was another night of worthy toil where he presented himself as being of value to the Dublin forward line.

That’s not nothing. Consider that the opening game of last year’s Allianz Football League was the first time Rock had played 70 minutes for Dublin in league or championship – and it came only a fortnight before he turned 25.

It might feel like he’s been around for a long time but in his mind, all that means is that he was a long time getting within shooting distance of the Dublin team without ever getting to take a shot.

He started every game in 2015, from O’Byrne Cup to All-Ireland final. It doesn’t get old.

“In years gone by, I would have struggled with injuries and now I’ve got over a lot of them and been injury-free for the last two or three years. So when you’re fit and available to play, you want to play every single game.

Competition

“And that’s the thing, you’re always on your toes with the level of competition within the squad. We’ve always had that level of competition in the forwards in Dublin, and now it’s in the backs as well.

“Davy Byrne came in [against Kerry] and played really well. When you’re available to play and you get a chance to play, then the Dublin jersey, you want to be able to put your hand up and say you’re available and give it your best. Because, if you want it, the jersey is yours to hold on to. And any time I get to play for Dublin it’s a great privilege.”

Beating Kerry so handily won’t always happen but they’ll take it when it’s offered to them. The calendar ticks ever on though, so now it’s over to Castlebar on Saturday to face a Mayo side who took a sound trimming down in Cork first time out. The bit of early-season rust that saw some goal chances go by the board against Kerry will presumably work itself out over time. If not this week, then eventually. So goes the theory in Dubland anyway.

“Just next weekend against Mayo, hopefully we can execute a bit better as well. We work in a team to create scoring opportunities for each other on the pitch, and we managed to do that and that’s always been our emphasis. We did that (against Kerry) but we didn’t take as many as we would have liked. But the fact that we’re creating the opportunities is great, especially for this time of year when the ground is a little bit heavy. So it’s definitely a positive.

Difficult

“We played Mayo last year in the league and I suppose we put in a good performance that night up there. So we’ll be going up there trying to get the two points again, but it’s going to be difficult.

“They’ve got new management and that would bring a freshness to their group and a bit more eagerness and stuff. Certainly it’s a game we’re really looking forward to. That’s what’s great about the national league – you’ve got games nearly every week, and different things to work on and different opposition.

“MacHale Park will be a different surface to Croke Park, so that will bring a challenge in itself. And the travelling part of it. So it will be a completely different scenario.”