Both Michael Darragh MacAuley and Bernard Brogan are both on the wrong side of 30 but there are more All-Irelands on the horizon.
Fourteen Leinster titles, eight All-Irelands and six All-Stars between them but the Dublin duo are keen for more.
Brogan, at 32, is two years older than MacAuley but will feel he has another couple of championship summers in him. His scoring return was down this year but that was due, in part, to Jim Gavin shifting back from the all-out attacking style of 2013 and 2014.
Both he an MacAuley were firmly shut down in the drawn All-Ireland with Mayo. While some were suggesting Denis Bastick would replace MacAuley, very few believed Gavin would drop Brogan.
That he did, and selected Paul Flynn to drop back in MacAuley’s midfield place, shocked everyone. One gamble – Andrews for Brogan – did not pay off but Flynn did a fine job in midfield beside Brian Fenton.
Gavin’s selections would now be classed as genius in the annals of GAA history because of the way MacAuley [three scoring assists], Brogan [0-1] and Cormac Costello [0-3 from play] sprung from the bench with menacing intent.
Brogan and MacAuley celebrating Leinster success in 2014.Mayo could not handle the impetus, purposeful running and smart angles the trio brought with them. On Monday’s GAA Hour, Colm Parkinson declared:
“Michael Darragh was direct, he was determined. Jesus, there’s no ego there. It doesn’t matter. They are all putting their shoulder to the wheel.
“He never gave up on that last one for Costello. He could have given up on it but he just threw his body at it, got a foot to it and set up the winning point.”
The 2010, 2013 and, in Jack McCaffrey, 2015 Footballers of the Year, did not start for Dublin and they still had too much for Mayo. Rory O’Carroll is expected to return next year too. Add McCaffrey to that and give Costello a starting brief and the prospect is scary for all challengers.
What for Brogan and MacAuley though? One suspects that their impacts off the bench would have been firmly noted, and underlined, by Gavin.
This Dublin squad is one that succeeds due to selflessness. Both men will be eager to get back into the starting XV but they will be 33 and 31 by the business end of next summer.
GAA is increasingly a younger man’s game but the two older heads still have huge roles to play if Dublin are to win their fifth All-Ireland in seven years.
The GAA Hour pays tribute to the unbeatable Dubs and ask where did it all go wrong for Mayo in the All-Ireland final replay. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes.
