Diarmuid Connolly continues to train with the Dublin footballers despite his 12-week suspension, and according to team-mate Jonny Cooper, is “intent” on regaining his place should Dublin advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals – the next stage he’ll become eligible to play.
Cooper also believes Connolly was "probably" hard done by in the analysis on The Sunday Game, given his history of indiscipline, and also backed manager Jim Gavin's stance for speaking out on that matter.
“Diarmuid is around,” says Cooper. “Not around for everything, he’s involved in the training aspects, as in the on-field things. But then he’s on his own training programme with gym-based stuff and obviously keeping up his own conditioning. He’s obviously not going to get any game time, if we are to progress, so it’s just trying to stay at that level.
“I think there’s a lot of intent there, a lot of focus, and I don’t know whether I’m interpreting it wrong or he could be feeling something else, but it looks to me like he’s very focused on maybe trying to get back into the team if we are to progress.”
12-week ban
Connolly’s 12-week ban was the result of his altercation with linesman Ciaran Brannigan in Dublin’s quarter-final win Carlow over last month: “I think [Connolly] is he his own man, he’s a grown man now,” added Cooper.
“Obviously it doesn’t fit in under what’s expected of us from a performance or management, what they’re looking for. I’m sure he’s very aware now, he certainly is now that he’s suspended, the ramifications of not staying in check with his actions.
“Because it was Diarmuid, did it get a lot more traction than another player? Probably. I couldn’t really answer whether it was fair or unfair, I think it was just people commenting on what they’re seeing.
“Obviously Jim spoke last week, and he was just trying to, in some regards, bat for Diarmuid. He’s backed me in an amount of different things over the years, so I’m certainly going to back him in the stance that he took.
“It was potentially taken out of context a little bit, I think he offered everyone comment in terms of the media getting their opportunity to ask him questions. I wasn’t aware that he was going to do it, but certainly [I’m] backing what he did.”
