THE BRAINS AND THE BRAWN
Dublin forward Niall hails his retiring team-mate Dean Rock
NIALL SCULLY has hailed Dublin’s “incredibly smart, big bloke on the loop,” following Dean Rock’s retirement from inter-county football.
Rock’s ability to arrive at pace on the shoulder of a team mate and hit the target set him apart almost as much as his free taking – the best in the game for almost a decade.
The Ballymun man’s ability in the clutch moments made him a firm fan’s favourite.
And his goalscoring exploits were key to Dublin, including the fastest ever goal in an All-ireland final (2020, straight off the throw-in).
The eight-time All-ireland champion, who turns 34 next month, kicked the winner against Mayo in the 2017 All-ireland final.
“He was incredibly smart,” said Scully. “We’d always be saying, ‘Deano on the loop.’
“He’d just be casually moving along and there’d be a swift move around the ball carrier on the loop and a slot-shot.
“I think people always remember Dean for the 2017 kick, but I’d remember him for the Kerry equaliser (2019 drawn Allireland final). That’s how
I would have seen him and how most of the lads would have seen him.
“The free-kicks were kind of just an addition to what he could do. Even in terms of a goal-scorer – always in big games he’d be at the end of a goal.
“His movement was incredible and, I think, the bravery and the courage he showed throughout the time he played for Dublin.
“He never shied away from a shot and was always the man you’d give the ball to in the last couple of minutes of any big game.”
Scully says three-time All Star Rock could shift heavy weights in the gym too, and standing well over six feet he was a physically imposing forward.
“He was a big bloke,” said the Templeogue Synge Street man, who holds five All-ireland medals. “I suppose he was more so a smart player in terms of his movement rather than someone like Cormac Costello who would use his pace and smarts to get there.
“His personality is calm and cool. Nothing ever seems to faze him. So I’d imagine people trying to bully him, it would be just a case of a shrug of the shoulders.”
Scully says Rock was “a team-mate and player you’d aspire to be.”
“If anyone would ask who you’d want on the pitch for the last five minutes, Dean Rock definitely would be up there,” he continued.
“He’ll be a huge loss in the dressingroom, but he’s had a great career for himself so he’ll enjoy the break.”