GAELIC GAMES/Championship 2005: Gavin Cummiskey finds Paul Casey confident a refreshed Dublin can rise to the occasion on Sunday
Nice, easy assignment for Paul Casey this Sunday as Ross Munnelly comes into view. The young Laoisman has been dancing around the half-forward line this summer so Casey may well become his shadow in the open spaces of Croke Park. At least it will be a familiar setting.
If you are going to interview the Lucan native, Croke Park on a stone-splitting July afternoon seems the ideal setting.
He is easy enough to find; the summer job has him working just off Jones's Road. After completing second-year sports science in DCU, he is conducting a study on injuries in women's Gaelic football.
Last Monday we found him shaded by the empty Cusack Stand, for the women's football championship launch, knowing that within a week he will be back here in something of a storm. The sun will probably stay out too; it just tends to when Dublin are playing. Casey's concern though will be either the young Kerry recruit Billy Sheehan or Munnelly.
"At this stage he (Munnelly) is the first name on the team sheet," said Casey of the Arles-Kilcruise attacker. "He's very important to Laois and has grown in stature not alone as the years progress but as the months progress. He's one of their form players and one of the ones to watch, but we know we have players capable of matching his standards."
That response is typical of Dublin players; they give dangerous opponents all due respect but don't fear them; it's just not in their mindset.
Casey was introduced to Croke Park in 2002, one of the new cubs in the false dawn that was the Tommy Lyons era. Before long he had a Leinster winner's medal but before his head stopped spinning Armagh had ruined the dream of a Dublin v Kerry All-Ireland final.
Then Dublin disappeared as a force. Capitulation against Laois in 2003 and Westmeath in 2004 were followed by defeats to the progressive powers of Armagh and Kerry.
The team is largely the same, except for graduates from the 2003 All-Ireland-winning under-21 team, with Casey a prime example of how they have matured. He's still a student though.
DCU has been his hunting ground for six years now - maybe he is sticking around for that elusive Sigerson medal.
He took a business degree before coming under the influence of Niall Moyna, the leading sports-science expert in GAA circles and a good reason why Casey is one of the fittest Gaelic footballers around.
The Sigerson situation could be addressed next year as Munnelly, Mayo sharpshooter Conor Mortimer and even Paddy Christie, possibly doing a Masters, are expected to enrol come September.
The Dublin panel has received a similar boost recently, with Dessie Farrell's return doubling the number of All-Ireland winners in the panel.
Darren Magee and David Henry also ensure quality replacements are available in defence and midfield.
"Yeah, Dessie is back in. He's been working very hard behind the scenes on his own for the last few months to try to get himself right. He has come back in good shape and it's great to have an old head in the squad.
"And then Darren Magee is back from Australia so he has come in and joined the panel - we'll see how he gets on. David Henry as well after a bad injury. Its good to have them back because it puts pressure on us fellas."
When queried about the new management structure, Casey notes the additions Paul Caffrey introduced to an already familiar mix.
Paul Clarke and Brian Talty are highly respected figures so players knew what they were getting.
"It happens with every county team. The new manager comes in and brings a fresh approach. The likes of Brian Talty and Paul Clarke - fresh faces and loads of experience at club and county level. I mean Paul Clarke has been there and done it all. He was on the All-Ireland-winning team in 1995 and is the last Dublin minor captain to win an All-Ireland (1984) - so getting these views is a key factor."
