PwC GPA Player of the Month for May in ladies' football, Sinéad Goldrick of Dublin, with her award at PwC HQ in Dublin.
By Paul Keane
Tearing it up at Croke Park on Leinster final day, it felt good to be back for Sinead Goldrick.
Not necessarily back at GAA headquarters where she has won so many big games and All-Ireland titles with Dublin in the past but back to her best after a world of frustration in 2021.
Three separate surgeries on her right hamstring, followed by an injury to her other hamstring just when she was nearing a full recovery, stopped the experienced defender in her tracks for the guts of six months last year.
She did start against Meath in the All-Ireland final but defeat that day put the tin hat on an entirely underwhelming season.
Against that background, Goldrick's strong Championship form for Dublin this season and PwC GPA Player of the Month award for May, on the back of that terrific Leinster final performance against Meath, is particularly noteworthy.
"Because last year I was so injured, I'm really enjoying my football at the moment," said Goldrick, who also lined out against Cavan last weekend in Dublin's opening group game of the Championship. "My body is in a good place. I'm loving being back with Dublin and the team. The Leinster final was great because the last time we met them in a final, Meath won so we were really happy with that. But now it's our All-Ireland series we're focused on."
On a collective level, Goldrick concedes to the team being driven on by the hurt of last year's All-Ireland defeat to the Royal County.
"We've lost a lot of All-Irelands but that definitely hurt," she said. "And it brought something new. It brought a new appetite to be better because we weren't good enough. Probably this year it's really player-led, there's that real hunger because we weren't good enough and we need to be better. It has brought that level of detail to the team."
Dublin manager Mick Bohan, daughter Freya right, and Sinéad Goldrick celebrate with the Mary Ramsbottom Cup after the Leinster LGFA Senior Football Championship Final match beween Meath and Dublin at Croke Park in Dublin.
As for the hamstrings, they're fine but Goldrick doesn't take any chances with them.
"Yeah, it's constant," she said of the work she puts in to keep them from breaking down. "I've put so much rehab into it. I'm just constantly trying to make sure that my body is in a good place. Focusing on that mental side of things. I just do my rehab every day because I don't want to go back to being on the sidelines. No-one likes being there."
When the LGFA season is over, Goldrick will return for a fourth AFLW campaign with Melbourne. But not until then. Melbourne's new season begins in late August and pre-season activity actually started this week but Goldrick cut a deal with her management to allow her to finish out the Championship campaign with Dublin. That could be as late as the end of July.
"I just said I'll be playing for Dublin and that's it," she explained. "If I wasn't able to play for Dublin, I wouldn't have gone over to Melbourne. Because, look, I'm kind of coming to the end of my career. I love playing for Dublin and I love playing for Melbourne, so I'm just grateful that I got the opportunity to do both.
"I am missing a lot of pre-season with the Melbourne girls but I'll be doing little bits to make sure I come over to Melbourne in a good shape. I was delighted this year to come back to Dublin in good shape because I came back last year with my hamstring not there. So it's just nice that everything is positive and I'm grateful to both managers for their trust and understanding."
