Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, a non game-focused Jim Gavin, was back among the media again yesterday in the oddest place.
Gaelic games in Ravenhill is being revived on November 15th, for the first time in 90 years, to raise awareness of Motor Neuron Disease.
Dublin versus the Ulster All Stars is an exhibition match within rugby confines, which seem far too tight, and there will be a plethora of players missing due to club commitments, not to mention the International Rules series a week later in Australia.
But the game does signal the start of Dublin’s crawl out from under the rock that crushed their 2014 dream.
Alas, Jim McGuinness will not be managing Ulster (due to any of a multitude of legitimate excuses) but it shall still bring the first sight of Dublin blue after the fall to Donegal.
“We had to get special dispensation from Croke Park,” said Gavin.
"Anto Finnegan has been working on that with Páraic Duffy, another great Ulster man, to get us approval to play outside of the close season. We don't get back collectively training until early December, and that was going to be the case anyway.
“I’m not in favour of Croke Park putting bans on teams. I don’t think it’s right. I think, almost without exception, inter-county managers at the elite level have a very good working knowledge of sports science and certainly my players will have their own individual programmes with their county and with their club.
“We won’t go back collectively regardless of any restrictions on collective training until December. It just happens that this game will be part of our close season. So we’re just delighted to get the chance to come to Antrim to play this game.
“We’ll meet before we travel. It is part of our closed season.”
The possibility of turning Leinster into a round-robin championship was discussed last night. Gavin agreed in principle.
“My take on the championship format is there has to be more games. That’s the bottom line. It’s unacceptable that teams might only play two games considering the preparation that goes into it so we all acknowledge a new format is needed. Change is constant, we see it in society and in our own sport we need to move ahead and change as well.”
Awfully narrow
The Ravenhill pitch looks awfully narrow for Gaelic football, certainly in comparison to Croke Park.
“All I know is when we play Ulster sides we need our 15 players. Maybe we can play 15 and they can play 13. But the pitch is a little tighter so whatever the organisers feel is best for the game. I’m sure Brian (McEniff) and Joe (Kernan) and the Ulster players will want to win and the Dublin players want to be the best we can be and that means winning the game.
“We might have to employ different tactics.”
A first look at Dublin’s blueprint for 2015 then?
“Possibly. Might be a chance to open that playbook and see what we can do.”
