The mantra going through Dean Rock’s head during free kick means winning point was no surprise

Imagine it.

There are 82,500 people hushed in silence watching you after being enthralled for 76 minutes with a mix of emotions waiting on this one moment. It had to be Dean Rock, of course it did. He had a knack of missing a couple against Mayo, never against anyone else. What is going through his head? Was it the cursing of Lee Keegan for throwing a GPS tracker? Or was it even the words on that were hung on the Dublin dressing room wall?

'Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.'

That's what the quote read, Jim Gavin is no doubt a man for his sayings but the goalscorer on the day of the All-Ireland gave an insight of what was possibly going through Rock's head. Con O'Callaghan was speaking at the launch of Sky Sports GAA Grassroots  campaign and revealed one of Dublin's ultimate mantras when asked about if he was preparing for the free himself given he is Dublin's second free-taker:

“I would have been practicing myself anyway, you have to be ready for that if you’re going to be called upon. Bernard Brogan is well able to take frees, Diarmuid Connolly and all the lads would be doing diligent work by themselves and whoever was called upon I’d imagine would have done their best and probably nailed it. “You might be a little nervous but you have to seek responsibility and we always say pressure is a privilege so whoever out there it’s a privilege for them.”

Sky Sports announced it is partnering with the GAA on three major grassroots initiatives which will see the broadcaster invest a total of €3 million euro over five years.