Derry’s trailblazing bullets from the back give Dublin food for thought

One in every four points from play scored by Derry in their impressive Allianz Football League Division 1 campaign to date has come from a defender – or at least players that we consider to be those who defend as a priority.

Of course it doesn’t work out like that and hasn’t for some time. The lines are blurred to the extent that positioning is a precarious exercise. But there is still a strong link between numbers on players’ backs and where they operate most on a field. Enough to make a distinction.

Derry have turned attacking from the back into an art form over the last 12 months especially. What they ramped up during last year’s championship, they have continued, helping seal a Division 1 final for the first time in a decade.

They have scored 6-10 from the back. In all, Derry have 13-99 and 12-74 of that has come from play.

To have half that goal tally come from defenders is no freak and a clear outcome of policy that has worked to perfection, particularly for Conor McCluskey who has got behind enemy lines three times over the last two months, each time his movement and positioning almost identical, to score three goals.

On the night they beat Monaghan, all three goals were scored by defenders coming from deep with Conor Doherty and Pádraig McGrogan also on the mark. Eoin McEvoyhas also goaled.

Thedefenders’ 6-10 fromthe12-74overall from play figure represents 25.5pc of Derry’s tally.

By comparison, Sunday’s league opponents Dublin – the most prolific team in the competitionwith 11-121 – have less requirement to push players forward, with defenders tallying 1-13 from the 10-98 they’ve scored from play (12.5pc).

Kerry area ta more modest10.1pc with 10 points from7-78 – thoughthey’ve been without their most prolific defender for some of that as Tom O’Sullivan overcomes injury.

In his seven seasons O’Sullivan has 1-46 from 70 games, an exceptional return from a player who has played mostly at corner-back and like McCluskey has been tasked with tackling some of the most dangerous opponents.

Derry’s propensity to source scores from the back has been growing with each campaign. In the 2022 championship it was 1-12, the goal coming from Gareth McKinless in the Ulster semi-final against Monaghan.

But over their eight games in last year’ s championship it accelerated with 5-16 from the 10-96 from play (11-127 overall) that they scored, again just short of 25pc.

In total, from 22 goals they have scored from play in their last 15 league and championship games, half have come from defenders.

It’s a trait that will be on Dublin minds this weekend as they seek to contain those bullets from the back. It has never really been their ‘thing’, even if they’ve got 1-13 from seven different defenders in their seven games.

In Jack McCaffrey though they have one of the most prolific scoring defenders there has been. McCaffrey’s Dublin career has been staggered and he’s been absent for four of the 11 championship campaigns that have spanned his Dublin years. On top of that there have been injuries and rotation.

But still, he has come up with 4-21 in just seven championship campaign sand a further 3-21 from the modest league involvement, by comparison to his peers, that he has had.

Lee Keegan is among the market leaders too, getting up to score 8-71 in his 140 league and championship games for Mayo. Of the eight goals he scored, three came against Dublin in successive championship games during Dublin’s six-in-a-row run – quite the achievement for a wing-back.

Mayo’ s philosophy from early in the last decade, when James Ho ran was manager, was to build from the back and runners from deep positions coming at pace. Thus, Keith Higgins, Don al Vaughan and Colm Boyle often found themselves at the end of sweeping moves. Vaughan finished his careerwith 3-42 from 118 league and championship games while Higgins, mainly from corner-back, though he did have spells at centre-forward, amassed 3-21 in his catalogue of 166 games. Boyle’s 2-22 came from 120 games.

Paddy Durcan picked up that mantle impressively too, chiefly fromwing-back, to land a most impressive points total, 1-72 from 99 games.

Tomás Ó Sé was one of the most attack-orientated half-backs of his or any other generation, even in years when holding a position was almost sacrosanct for a defender. But Ó Sé liked an adventure and pressed forward to score 5-67 in his 178 league and championship games.

From corner-back his brother Marc wasn’t as prolific, as some of the toughest man-marking jobs were left to him but still, 1-23 was a decent return with that responsibility from 176 league and championship games.

Since Mickey Harte’s involvement, particularly from 2005 onwards, Tyrone have had some of the game’s most offensive defenders.

The perception was theywere defensive, but Harte teams counter-attacked very effectively with players like Tier nan McCann in latter years, 4-31 from his 80 games, and in previous years, Davy Harte, 1-31 from 80 games, and Philip Jordan, 2-26 from 107.

Collectively, though, Derry have taken it to a different level recently and that will provide Dublin with food for thought.