McManus comes to defence of Dublin stars accused of Ireland snub
IRELAND International Rules vice-captain Conor McManus has defended Dublin over the lack of availability of any players for the recent trip Down Under, but admitted that it could have been a different result if the champions’ top stars were able to travel.
Dublin GAA chief executive John Costello took umbrage at the criticism by Dick Clerkin — McManus’ former Monaghan teammate — that the pick of Jim Gavin’s all-conquering team had somehow snubbed the series, which Australia won both legs.
Dublin’s Jack McCaffrey took issue with the ‘insinuation that we don’t appreciate it or don’t take pride in representing our country’ and Ireland’s top scorer echoed that view.
‘They probably didn’t need to explain themselves,’ said McManus.
‘Some of them were involved in club championships. Some of them are still involved in club championship. They’ve been on the road a long time; some of them are after winning three AllIrelands and that takes its toll as well. I’m sure those lads just wanted to down tools and get a rest for a while as much as anything else.’
Joe Kernan’s squad was minus the presence of players like former Rules captain and Footballer of the Year nominee Stephen Cluxton, five-time AllIreland winners James McCarthy and Diarmuid Connolly, and another former captain Bernard Brogan. Of course their presence would have impacted on Ireland’s chances in a series they lost on an aggregate of 13 points, going down 63-53 in Adelaide and coughing up a 13-point second test lead to lose 53-50.
‘There’s no doubt Dublin are the best team and they have been this past three years. A number of the Dublin lads played on the 2015 team in Croke Park. There’s no doubt it would have strengthened our hand but those are the cards we were dealt. Some of them were asked in but between one thing or another they weren’t there and we had to get on with it.’ McManus was back in Dublin yesterday to pick up his Player of the Series award, presented by sponsors EirGrid, only to reveal he thought he wouldn’t even get to play in the first test. Remarkably, McManus has been top scorer for Ireland in each of the four tours he has taken part in. With a portion of the travelling Ireland squad struck down with illness on the eve of the first test in Adelaide, including his roommate and attacking partner in crime Michael Murphy, he revealed he also almost became an unfortunate victim of circumstance. ‘There was all sorts of stuff going on. I’d say six lads were bed-bound. Two of the lads, the two that didn’t make it to tog out, were in bed nearly the full week. A couple of other lads were in bed for two or three days before the game and managed to pull themselves out of bed for it. ‘I got an infection on the top of my foot on the Friday before the first test and could hardly walk the Friday or the Saturday with it. ‘It was some sort of a bite, I don’t know, it must have got infected, just at the very top of my foot. I couldn’t train, went to go to train the Friday before the game and I couldn’t hardly put my boot on, then I went to solo and I said, “right, I can’t do this here”. I went to the doc and he got me sorted in fairness but it took right up to the game.
‘Kevin Moran, in fairness, he pulled it out of the fire with a lot of lads. From day one, he reckoned it would have been okay but just in my own head I was thinking, “I can’t walk with this thing”, I was limping. I couldn’t put a shoe on, just a sock, because it was just too sore.’
That McManus clocked 24 points is testament to his ability; hitting a further 16 points in the second test. His impact was such that that he was linked to a move to AFL side Essendon after the 2013 series.
‘I think I’m past my sell-by date now for going Down Under,’ he said, smiling. ‘There were a few lads talking and whatnot but I never really entertained it, to be perfectly honest. There was nothing concrete. Just lads asking if I would be interested in coming down and things like that but nothing more than that.’
He feels there are a number of aspects of the series which could be introduced to Gaelic football, including the extension of a mark past purely a kick-out that sails past the 45-metre line.
‘From the point of view of sweepers and double teams, it might be one way of negating that.’
With a change to rule meaning kick-outs now have to travel past the 20-metre line, he says it’s time to go one step further.
‘Maybe forcing the kick-out to cross the 45. It means that maybe teams are set up and forced to compete for possession, and may the best man win.
‘Everyone’s talking about the lack of high-fielding in the game now so it could certainly bring that back into our game,’ suggested McManus.