Dean Rock believes it is imperative the Dublin footballers retain their top-flight league status, as Dessie Farrell’s side occupy bottom spot in the Division One table entering Saturday’s Croke Park clash with Roscommon.
Farrell wasn’t exactly sending up any flares after his side’s loss to Mayo two weeks ago, with the Dublin manager sounding as distressed about relegation as somebody on a sun lounger waiting for a passing cloud to drag away the shade.
But Rock views it somewhat differently. It’s not quite like storm clouds are gathering around the capital, still it might be no harm for the Dubs to get some wind in their sails by beating Roscommon.
Rock, who announced his intercounty retirement last month, was part of a Dublin team relegated to Division Two in March 2022, having lost their opening four matches during that campaign. It was the first time Dublin had dropped out of the top tier since the mid-90s.
Rock scored an injury-time penalty in their final game against Monaghan, only for a last-gasp rally from the Farney County to consign Dublin to the drop.
And while the Dubs made an immediate return to Division One with a successful campaign last season, Rock doesn’t believe yo-yoing between the divisions would serve the team well in the years ahead.
“It certainly would have hit us hard when we did get relegated that year. Defeats don’t do anyone any good,” says Rock. “I understand it’s the league but you learn a lot about lads in the league, individually and collectively.
“I think it’s very important to pick up a good couple of wins and the lads will certainly be quite annoyed and frustrated over the first two games after losing both by a point.
“I think staying in Division One will be imperative. It’s not a good thing to potentially get relegated to Division Two, external noise, everything. It’s just not a good feel for the group when you do get relegated.
“And who knows, if guys are going to retire there could be a totally new team there next year and you don’t want to be plying your trade in Division Two. You want to be in Division One and that’s something that we’ve always tried to do within Dublin over the years.”
Rock’s retirement leaves a void in the squad, while the absence of Pat Gilroy from the group so far this season will also be felt within the dressingroom.
Rock feels Farrell’s invitation for Gilroy to join his management team for 2023 was crucial in getting Dublin over the line last summer, and the Ballymun clubman hopes Gilroy will yet be involved, even if it is in a reduced capacity, later in the season.
“There’s no hiding away from the impact Pat has had on a generation of Dublin footballers from his time as manager and then when he came in with us as a selector.
“He’s just very much to the point and he’s able to get the most out of individuals and players, maybe by riling them up the right way or just speaking really honestly and being open and transparent about what’s expected from individuals.
“Perhaps that was what we needed last year in terms of him coming in, maybe just to rock the boat a little bit after two years of not getting over the line and maybe lads not being overly honest with themselves and maybe not getting that honesty from other guys in the management team.
“He gave it to us between the eyes and I think lads responded really well to that. Without him this year, there is a massive void to fill, absolutely. Just his presence in general is massively important.
“I think his influence will be missed if he’s not going to be there for this season. But I think he will be in the background doing little bits, hopefully.”
Such praise for Gilroy’s impact is all the more noteworthy coming from Rock. Gilroy dropped the Ballymun forward Rock from the Dublin panel in 2012, a call which naturally didn’t sit brilliantly with the dead-ball specialist.
“I probably didn’t need another kick up the arse, to be honest, but I ended up getting one.
“I certainly became maybe obsessive after that moment and that certainly got the most out of me that summer, winning the club championship with Ballymun in 2012 was obviously big.
“There are certain stepping stones along the way that justify it perhaps but, yeah, look it is what it is, it certainly did not do me any harm. But I feel that potentially if I had been around in 2012 I could have had an impact, but who knows.”
The clear-the-air debrief with Gilroy took place many years later in a city centre watering hole as the Dublin players celebrated yet another All-Ireland final win.
“We had a conversation in a pub on an early Monday morning after one of the All-Irelands, maybe 2017, and we decided to put the past behind us and move on.
“I was quite happy with that obviously, at that stage you have four All-Irelands and you are probably not as bitter about it as maybe you once were, so we certainly have had a good relationship ever since.
“That was probably the first time I would have met him in a good number of years so it was nice, maybe, to park it and move on and engage in the celebrations.”
Rock is adapting to life as a former Dublin footballer these days but he’s at peace with his decision. He even travelled as a supporter to see the Dubs in action against Mayo in Castlebar a fortnight ago.
“The was a lot of emotion after the All-Ireland final last year and you think, ‘Yeah, that’s definitely the end’ but as the weeks and months go by you think, ‘Jeez, the body is okay here, maybe I will go again’.
“But as I got close to Christmas and when the lads were going back to do that early training in November and December, the mind was telling me another thing and it definitely felt like the right thing for me at that stage.
“I was very much content and very much fulfilled in terms of what I achieved during my career and was very much happy to walk away. I think for me personally it was definitely the right time.”
– Dean Rock was speaking at the conclusion of the 2024 Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup.
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