Jonny Cooper describes it as “dog eat dog” – simply because no one wins a place on this Dublin football team without fighting for it.

Indeed Cooper finds himself fighting hard again ahead of Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Monaghan: selected to start in the Leinster final against Meath, he was forced to withdraw that morning with a quad muscle injury, and so watched from the sidelines as Mick Fitzsimons filled his corner back position with considerable aplomb.

Now, back in training this week, Cooper must try to convince manager Jim Gavin to reconsider him, otherwise that number four jersey is staying on Fitzsimon’s back: “That’s the way it works,” says Cooper, “and the reality is he (Fitzsimons) has the jersey now, and deservedly so, and it’s up to me and the other full back line contenders to try and get one.

“Because it is dog eat dog in there, and although we are all feeding into the one channel of a collective Dublin performance, we are all trying to get a starting 15 jersey. The hunger is massive, the competition is massive, because the next guy could step up just as well, or maybe better, than you can in some cases . . . if Jim sees someone pushing you’ll get your chance, and then it’s up to the person in question to prove it to him.”

It’s been the mantra of Gavin since he took charge, and remains so much so that Dublin’s highest scorer in this year’s championships – Cormac Costello, with his 1-9 – is still unlikely to start on Saturday. Some, such as Kevin McManamon, who in the past struggled to break into the starting 15, are now fighting off others for that jersey.

Competition

Cooper also reckons this competition for places continues to drive Dublin towards that complete 70-minute performance – something they have lacked so far this year. “Without a doubt there is more to come, because as a group, we’d be very hungry, a group that wants to get a starting 15 jersey, and if the consequence is winning, or as the media might put it, winning too much, well that’s just the way it is.

Defensively, Dublin have been improving with every game: they conceded 0-16 to Laois in the quarter-final, 1-12 to Wexford in the semi-final, and just 1-10 to Meath in the Leinster final. “We probably feel that defending is an art form, just like scoring,” says Cooper. “We put a lot of emphasis on the contact zone, and going into contact with somebody else and what you do in that one or two seconds you might have within touching distance of the ball. Behind the scenes, there are probably 13 or 14 backs that are coming together in different parts of sessions, working together. When guys get chances, they have fitted in seamlessly.”

Dublin will have only had seven days to consider the challenge Monaghan will present. The counties haven’t met in the championship since 1923 (when Dublin won an All-Ireland semi-final by 2-5 to 0-0).

Meanwhile Limerick hurling captain Donal O’Grady is fit to resume his place at centre forward for Sunday’s hurling semi-final against Kilkenny at Croke Park. O’Grady has been back to full training in the last week, after withdrawing from their quarter-final win over Wexford due to a calf strain.

Limerick had 24 points to spare on Wexford, O’Grady’s experience thus hardly missed. His place on the day was taken by Thomas Ryan, who chipped in with three late points.