There is still glory to be had as a wing forward but, first up, you have to put in one hell of a shift.
Diarmuid Connolly was part of the Dublin squad that had to swallow a 17-point hammering from Kerry, in 2009, and endure a bleak, introspective winter.
The Dubs added some defensive bite to their play and won the All-Ireland in 2011. Jim Gavin stepped in and the Sam Maguire followed in 2013 but a semi-final loss to Donegal the following year was the real wake-up call. Gavin has done great deeds with the current Dublin squad but instilling a work ethic has been the key to success.
Connolly has bought into that completely. He may not register the same scoring figures for Dublin as he does for St Vincent’s but, he would argue, he now gives more to his county that he ever did when he was simply pinging points from either boot.
While Connolly often wears the 14 jersey for Dublin, you regularly find him in the half forward line or helping out the half backs and midfielders. His scoring return in the All-Ireland final games against Mayo may have been 1-1 but his defensive turnovers were in double figures.
The 29-year-old told The GAA Hour about the changing role of wing forwards in modern football and how he looks upon Lionel Messi as a sporting example. Connolly said:
“It used to be a lot more natural and you were expected to do a lot of scoring but now you want to be making 10 to 12 tackles, you want to be an option for kick-outs, the link between defence and attack, trying to get on the end of scores. It is all of those things.
“An inter-county corner forward isn’t just hatching inside either… You’ve to chase and track back the corner-back – your Philly McMahons – who is trying to get a score of his own, or shutting down short kick-outs. Their is a defensive side to every part of your game and also an attacking side.
“Yes, when you score 1-3 or 1-4 you are the best in the world but what did your man do? What happened going back and helping your defence. What did you do there?”
“Everybody will talk about yer man who scored 1-4 or 1-5 but is he working off the ball?,” Connolly continues.
“Lionel Messi is scoring, on average, a goal a game but you look at his tackles. When he first came onto that Barcelona team, I think he had the most tackles ever in La Liga and it was in an attacking sense.
“I always find that when I’ve got the defensive side of my game sorted, everything else falls into place. That’s the building blocks of every player.”
Not a bad player to take inspiration from but we suspect Connolly has a sneaky regard for Cristiano Ronaldo too…
The journey continues…. pic.twitter.com/MDMujEmgcF
— – (@dermoc123) November 5, 2016
Diarmuid Connolly makes his long overdue GAA Hour debut and talks to Colm Parkinson about everything from the black card to his rivalry with Lee Keegan and how he honed the ability to kick accurately with either foot.
