For Dean Rock, and Dublin supporters, it was a shame that his first free was from such an acute angle. That first miss was followed by two more and, all of a sudden, Dublin’s banker was bust.
It would be too easy to explain away Rock’s free misses as a bad day at an outdoor office, which was experiencing a downpour whilst 80,000 people gawped at his every move.
His iffy kicking display was highlighted more so by Cillian O’Connor’s return on All-Ireland Final day – five from six.
The Ballymun Kickhams forward entered Sunday’s final as Dublin’s Mr. Reliable. His kicking success rate was a hugely impressive 93% (38 from 41) and his successful free-taking brought confidence to his all-round game.
Rock attempted eight frees on the day and got three of them. A couple were tough but most followed the same pattern – wretched connection and a ball dropping short or skewing wide.
By the 60th minute, against Mayo, Rock did not want the ball near him. If it was passed to him, he found someone else to take the ball off him – whether they were in green or blue. His imperious performance against Kerry, in August, seemed a lifetime away.
On The GAA Hour, Conan Doherty asked host Colm Parkinson and former Dublin player Barry Cahill if Rock is safe from the chop. Cahill believes the 26-year-old’s role as primary free-taker will give him another crack at Mayo. Cahill said:
“If Dean is off, then you go back to who is on frees and 45s?”
When the obvious names of Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan were mentioned, Cahill replied:
“I don’t think Bernard is overly keen on the frees. Going back to 2014, he was on the frees that summer and in the Donegal game he wasn’t overly comfortable with it. A decision was made to let Bernard focus on open play.”
One player who stepped up to take a sideline kick at goal, deep in injury time, was Connolly. The entire panel feel Dublin boss Jim Gavin should have talked his star forward out of it.
“Gavin needs to step up there and tell him to put [the ball] down,” said Doherty.
“Not in an All-Ireland final, with a minute left, but you still want your best players coming over, calling rank and saying ‘I am taking this free-kick. I am taking this sideline.’
“I like seeing Diarmuid Connolly stepping up and taking the ball off Ciaran Kilkenny but not on this occasion.”
We review a crazy All-Ireland final and chat to Lee Keegan about his special relationship with Diarmuid Connolly. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.
