BLUES CONTROL
Dominant Dubs still coasting, insists Whelan
CIARÁN WHELAN sees no evidence to justify the recent claim by Tyrone manager Mickey Harte that Dublin are vulnerable, comparing them to the New Zealand Rugby team in terms of a daunting win percentage.
Since Jim Gavin took charge for the 2013 season, Dublin have won 14 of the 16 major titles on offer, including a fifth Allianz League title in six seasons in April.
The All- Ireland champions vulnerable?
‘I can’t see any justification for that. If you’re calling vulnerability on the back of a League performance, you could say everybody is vulnerable,’ said Whelan.
‘I don’t see where the substance is coming to make that judgement. You look at Mayo — poor League. Tyrone were poor at the start of the League, Kerry still haven’t got a solid back six.
‘Playing League football in February and March and making a judgement around vulnerability in my opinion is a little bit early. Yes, Bernard Brogan is gone. He’s going to be a loss but he wasn’t starting in the team last year. Diarmuid Connolly is gone, no doubt he’s going to be a significant loss if he doesn’t return. I don’t think there’s as much depth in defence as they have in the forward line and for me their key players are [Stephen] Cluxton, [Brian] Fenton, [Ciarán] Kilkenny, [Paul] Mannion, [Con] O’Callaghan — these are key guys. It’s nearly a new breed they’re reliant on now to perform.’
RTÉ analyst Whelan looks at his protégé Fenton, a fellow Raheny midfielder, as the epitome of the Gavin generation that begins the bid f or a f ourth successive All-Ireland against Wicklow at Portlaoise this Sunday.
‘I think they’ve just become so used to winning. I think it’s culture, the culture that’s within the dressing room. They know how to win. They’ve guys playing like Fenton, the perfect example, he’s never lost a Championship match. You can compare them to the New Zealand rugby team. Whatever principles they’re working to, it’s working.
‘They coasted, they were able to coast and they still won the League. Galway put up a gallant effort against them, but they’ve had five weeks off which was great for them. They’re able to refresh and rebuild.’
Rather than being vulnerable, Whelan sees Dublin getting stronger as the summer goes on.
‘Cian O’Sullivan will be back in June, hopefully. Jack McCaffrey is on the way back. Con O’Callaghan will be back. They’re still in a very strong place. I’ve always said the League has to come with a little bit of a health warning.
‘They are looking to peak in August. We know the way the Leinster Championship is, they will be in the Super 8s.
‘They’ll be strong favourites to come out of it so they’re going to be back in an All-Ireland semifinal. There were elements in the League that some teams showed up, that if you push up on Dublin like Kerry did in the first 10 or 15 minutes, you can get at their full- back line. But I still can’t see any of the others really progressing at the rate that they should and they’re still the team to beat no doubt about it.’
He feels that one source of motivation will be not getting enough credit for their achievements to date.
‘When they did the three-in-arow, the night of the final was more about splitting Dublin in two and the manner in which they won. And I’m only surmising that might have got under their skin a bit and they said, “Right, let’s go out and deliver four-in-a-row”. I think that translates into their League form and they’ve kept themselves in peak condition and they want to do it.’
Whelan feels that an expanded Super 8s competition would be a fairer alternative than the new round-robin quarter-final series with two groups of four.
‘I’d like to see Super 8s go to Super 16s to be honest and have a Super 16s for the remaining counties as well. We have to cater for the weaker counties and everybody some sort of equal chance at the start of the year [to be in the top tier].
‘That they get the opportunity maybe at the start, whether it’s through the League system. I’m not a big fan of the provincial systems, I think they’re imbalanced and create a lot of inconsistency. But the Super 8s could become the Super 16s with a secondary competition that is marketed and kept as high profile as possible.’