KICKING KING
Football’s greatest side relied on him for scores but there was more to Rock’s game than being a dead-ball specialist...
GIVEN that certainty defined his career, Dean Rock should have been taken at his word in the minutes after last year’s All-Ireland final.
Still in his Dublin uniform while clutching a pint of Guinness, he drank in the moment of winning his eighth All-Ireland medal while also confirming that he wouldn’t be back for a ninth.
‘That probably could be my last act playing for Dublin, so it’s certainly a nice way to go out,’ he suggested.
Six months on — and after 12 years with the Dublin set-up and a month shy of his 34th birthday — Rock officially put the seal on his retirement.
His place in Gaelic football’s greatest team is forever secure. The numbers he posted alone assures of that, displacing the legendary Jimmy Keavney in 2020 as the county’s all-time top scorer.
That ‘last act’ he reflected on was his injury-time point that laid Kerry out cold in July’s final and took his final career tally to an astonishing 24-591 (663 points) over his whole career.
As staggering as those numbers are, the greatness of his career is not to be found in the figures but in how he squeezed every bit of his talent.
And, in that sense, he serves as an example of what made Dublin different and great.
He was never sprinkled with the kind of magic dust that fell on the likes of Bernard Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly, never possessed the aura of Stephen Cluxton or the rage of James McCarthy, but the key to all great teams is that good players find a way to elevate themselves.
He was never blessed with blinding pace, was slow on the turn and started out weighed down by the pressures of having to live up to his famous father, Dublin legend Barney.
Even though he was called into the squad initially in 2012, he was cut by Pat Gilroy from that summer’s Championship panel.
What odds then that he would become an eight-time All-Ireland champion, and a three-time AllStar while taking a sledge hammer to Dublin’s individual scoring records.
Undoubtedly, the appointment of Jim Gavin was significant — Rock was part of Dublin’s 2010 All-Ireland Under 21 championship-winning side — and he thrived in the elite environment that was created.
He became a kicking machine, a nailed-on starter in that six-in-arow run from 2015 to 2020, comfortably taking the pressure as Dublin leaned on him to put the ball between the posts.
While he is easily pigeon-holed as a dead-ball specialist, after working closely with kicking coach Dave Alred for a period, he developed into so much more.
A strong physical presence, he developed the smarts — he had a knack for emptying out the middle — that helped facilitate the workings of the most cohesive and best rehearsed attack in the game, while with ball in hand he was a constant threat when within striking distance.
In three successive All-Ireland finals (2017-19) he was either the top or joint-top scorer from open play, which goes against the perception that he relied just on frees to keep his numbers up.
In Mayo, they have good reason not to remember him too fondly, but yet they had even more reason to respect the star attacker.
He was the bane of their lives in a series of big matches, invariably he seemed to deliver while, at the same time, the westerners appeared to fluff their lines.
Of course, in what was arguably one of the greatest finals of the modern era, he
“He is the
example of what made
Dublin great”
have the final say in 2017 on an afternoon when he kicked four points from play.
Yet, it was a routine free-kick at the death that — or as routine as a 40-metre free-kick can be when the Sam Maguire is on the line —that would become his iconic moment. The photographs capture Lee Keegan’s GPS unit being hurled in an act of desperation to distract Rock as he stepped up to make contact, but such was the Ballymun clubman’s absolute focus, he was gloriously oblivious to such gamesmanship. Three years later, this time in a surreal decider played behind closed doors, he killed Mayo before they even got a chance to get started, running onto his best friend McCarthy’s pass to bat the ball into net .
Timed at 14 seconds, it was the quickest goal in All-Ireland final history.
It would also be his last start in a decider, although he continued to be an ever-present up until last year, but over the past 12 months the end might as well have been lit up on a neon sign.
He started just one of Dubwould
lin’s nine Championship games — coming off the bench in the eight others — and with his role diminishing and an appetite well sated by years of success in the blue jersey, the final act was played out yesterday.
‘The time has come for me to hang up the blue jersey and end my playing career with the Dublin senior football team,’ said Rock.
‘I now step aside fulfilled, knowing that I made the most of the opportunity that was given to me.
‘What started as a young boy’s dream in the back garden to eventually living my dream of representing Dublin is something I take immense pride from. To Dessie (Farrell), James (McCarthy) and all the lads, the very best of luck for the season ahead. ‘To the many Dublin teammates, managers, coaches, medical and support staff I have made special memories with each one of you which I will cherish forever. ‘Thank you for your devotion to Dublin GAA and for giving your all. ‘With every ending there is a new beginning. I look forward to seeing what that will bring,’ he signed off.