Jury still out on Rushe experiment but it’s worth persisting with
ASQUARE peg in a round hole or a stroke of tactical genius? The jury is still out. The Liam Rushe experiment continues at Nowlan Park this afternoon with Dublin supporters wondering whether the switch of the All-Star centre-back to the edge of the square, or some sort of central role in attack, will be the making or breaking of the team come the summer.
Former Dublin manager Michael O’Grady explains why it’s worth persisting with, despite the obvious frustrations of the player at various stages during the League campaign to date, taking the ongoing debate at Real Madrid as a perfect example.
‘Not all players can go out and just play with abandon where they want. Some players have to do things they don’t like doing.
‘I was listening last night to a big discussion about Gareth Bale playing for Madrid and that he’s not in his preferred place but that it’s for the good of the team.
‘If you’re talking about the team, forget about being an individual star.
‘I’m very impressed with the stance Ger Cunningham has taken with Liam and with Conal Keaney. I think Conal is an exceptional back. He’ll get a new lease of life at wing-back or even in the centre.’
Just look at some of the other counties featuring in today’s League semi-final double bill. Tipperary have taken another All-Star wingback in Brendan Maher and done pretty much the same, using him as a primary ball-winner on the ‘40 in the absence of Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher. While Rushe played the group stages at full-forward, he drifted out to centre-forward for much of the quarter-final against Limerick.
‘You won’t win with the best backs in the country or with a forward line that doesn’t score enough,’ adds O’Grady. ‘You won’t win. Dublin know that.
‘There has to be some way of improving the forwards.
‘Not many others might but I’d agree with Liam being left up front, maybe rotate him at centre-forward. But the rest of the team have to think about it and hit him with plenty of ball.
‘A diagonal ball to the corner-flag spot when you’ve a man like him, 6’ 3” at full-forward is no use. I think Dublin are playing much more direct hurling with him there.’
Cunningham’s problems up front are well documented, the absence of a blue-chip goalscorer or an out-andout number centre-forward is not helping them make the final step up to All-Ireland winners after winning National League and Leinster titles in the past four years.
‘We haven’t had an outstanding number 11 or number 14 for a while,’ admits O’Grady, who says the problem isn’t just a Dublin one. ‘It’s the backbone of a team but they’re very hard to find.
‘Even Kilkenny don’t have a recognised centre-forward. Richie Hogan could be there, Richie Power, Colin Fennelly.
‘Dublin have a glut of good defenders but, like most teams in the coun- try, they don’t have a glut of forwards.
‘In saying that, I think this is a serious Dublin team and there’s a freshness there. They’re playing more direct and I see them causing serious problems for any defence.
‘It’s critical that you have someone up front who is big and strong and a great person to win a ball. Liam is probably more comfortable in the half-back line but we shouldn’t forget he started as a forward with Dublin.’
HE POINTS to the example of Chris Crummey who has been one of the finds of the season at wing-back for Dublin under Cunningham, yet plies his trade up front for Lucan Sarsfields.
‘Chris was an outstanding back for the minors but here in the club, because of our dearth of forwards he has been pushed up. A born leader. Another big, strong man.
‘As a team, you need someone up front who has that physical presence to cause the opposition plenty of problems.
‘Even on a bad day for Liam when he doesn’t score, he will make scores and win frees.’
The second-round game against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park was a prime example.
Rushe finished scoreless but gave Paul Murphy a hard time of it throughout, reducing the impact of the All-Star defender and providing a foil to the likes of Mark Schutte and David Treacy who, between them, hit 14 points as the Blues recorded a first win at the venue over Kilkenny since 1964.
‘The amount of scores the rest of the forwards are getting off him, maybe it is an unselfish role he is playing but one he realises is beneficial for the team,’ says his Dublin teammate Danny Sutcliffe. ‘You see the success the likes of Dotsy [David O’Callaghan], Mark and David Treacy are getting off him, maybe he’s not directly getting it every day, but it’s massive for us.’
When Dublin met Cork in the League at Croke Park earlier in the spring, Rushe was left to feed off scraps, his character and leadership evident in the fact that he kept going right to the end when the game was long over as a contest, batting to the net for Dublin’s only goal.
But can Dublin afford to use him as a battering ram presence up front rather than an All-Star performer at the back?
Today will go some of the way to answering that question.
Even on a bad day for Liam, he’ll make scores and win frees