FORWARD THINKING
Star Stack on successful move nearer his own goal
BRIAN STACK never thought he would be hammering the hammer – yet the St Brigid’s captain is now one of the best man-markers in the country.
Stack was magnificent in the Roscommon champs’ Connacht final victory over fancied Corofin, a vital step in St Brigid’s march to this All-ireland decider.
The 25-year-old, the captain of his county, calmly subdued the threat of Galway star Gary Sice in that provincial showdown. It is something he does as a matter of fact at the top level these days.
In last year’s intercounty championship, Stack was put on Mayo’s Ryan O’donoghue, Galway’s Shane Walsh, Dublin’s Con O’callaghan, Sligo’s Niall Murphy, Kildare’s Darragh Kirwan and Cork’s Stephen Sherlock.
The Rossies went out at the All-ireland preliminary quarter-final stage but in six Championship games against the opposition’s main dangerman, Stack conceded just six points – and kept O’donoghue and Walsh scoreless. Yet having played at full-back when he was younger, he was then transformed into a forward.
“In the second year of minor I played centre forward and for the next couple of years I was a forward, on the Brigid’s team I was a wing forward or corner forward,” explained Stack.
“I played there for a couple of years and then, for Roscommon under Anthony Cunningham, I was brought back to full-back and I’ve kind of been there since, maybe for the last three years. It’s turned out alright I suppose.”
Stack is as modest as he is quietly-spoken but, ahead of facing Glen on Sunday, he agrees he has been in the form of his career over the past year.
He puts a lot of that down to the improvements made by St Brigid’s and the better defensive structure implemented by Roscommon.
“That’s the most important thing as a defender – organising the defence around you,” he said.
But what has also been key to his success is watching a lot of football and taking in some footage of his direct opponents. Not too much, however. “That’s because you can’t really get a sense for what it’s going to be like until you’re out there,” Stack reasoned. “But a good bit goes into it from a team perspective and a personal perspective.”
As a former forward, however, surely there’s some regret that he’s spoiling chances rather than taking them?
“It’s a lot more glamorous up the field but the way the game’s gone, 15 attack and 15 defend and you can do an awful lot of attacking from full-back,” said Stack.