Dublin hurler Chris Crummey pictured at Parnell Park to launch AIG Dub Club Health.
By John Harrington
When Pat Gilroy stepped down as Dublin hurling manager after just one year in charge due to work commitments, the fear in Dublin hurling circles was that the progress made under his watch would be eroded.
Those fears now look unfounded after a positive start to 2019 under new manager Mattie Kenny that hit its highest note yet with last Sunday’s exciting victory over previously unbeaten Waterford.
Gilroy put solid foundations in place last year and, according to Dublin defender, Chris Crummey, they’re building on them this year and are a better team now than they were 12 months ago.
“I’d say we are further down the road. It’s a completely new year but it’s a continuation of the progress we made last year,” Crummey told GAA.ie
“We have new additions to the panel, there are a lot of lads who have gotten game time and have really put their hands up for places.
“I just really think the strength and depth in our panel is greater than ever and that’s what you need to be successful.
“As I said, we had 24 lads playing Fitzgibbon and I think that’s great for Dublin - there are so many lads putting their hands up for places so that bodes well.”
Crummey believes Dublin have been able to hit the ground running this year because new manager Mattie Kenny’s methods and capabilities don’t differ all that much to his predecessor’s.
“To be honest there’s not that much difference at all,” said Crummey. “There’s some similarities between Pat and Mattie, down to the terms of their management setups, they’d be professional men, they’ve great management teams in place, I suppose their principles are very, very similar in how they want us to play, it literally is just hard work and that’s really what we’re trying to do with each game.”
That being the case, Kenny couldn’t have been happy with Dublin’s only defeat so far this year in the League, the 0-20 to 1-11 reverse to Galway in Round Three when they were out-fought as well as out-thought.
“I wouldn’t say he was pissed off, I would just say as team of players and management we were all disappointed with our performance levels,” said Crummey.
“I suppose if you look across the board, it’s very difficult to have a high level for every game, there’s always dips, but the one thing was how we reacted from that game last weekend, there was definitely huge learning we took from that Galway game that we think would beneficial in the long-term.
“We were disappointed ourselves because we didn’t perform.”
Chris Crummey, left, and Donal Burke of Dublin after the Allianz Hurling League Division 1B Round 4 match between Dublin and Waterford at Parnell Park in Donnycarney, Dublin.
The redeemed themselves last weekend against Waterford when they absorbed the repeated blows of conceding four goals on the way to a 1-26 to 4-15 victory.
2018 All-Star nominee, Crummey, and his colleagues in the Dublin defence have gotten a lot of credit in the past year but last weekend it was a forward division that scored 1-17 from that really caught the eye.
The manner in which they clicked looked very much like a team that is starting to really grasp the game-plan their new manager is trying to implement.
“Yeah definitely, I suppose we’ve come in and it’s gonna take time getting used to the plans and systems that are in place, but definitely it was the forwards who really led that performance at the weekend,” said Crummey.
“I wouldn’t single anyone out, I thought as a unit they worked really well and everyone stood up to the plate and contributed to the scoreboard.
“Purely the work rate of the forwards they made the backs jobs a lot easier, so I think that was a bit different from last Sunday (against Galway).”
Dublin could top Division 1B of the Allianz League if they beat Laois in their final group match on Sunday, but, regardless, they are guaranteed a place in the League quarter-finals.
And with their form graph on the up, Crummey sees now reason why they can’t challenge hard for the silverware on offer.
“I can only speak for us personally but I know that our whole focus is to win every match and every competition that we go into.
“That’s definitely going to be the case this year - we’re not really looking past this weekend and hopefully when we do get to the quarter final, we can drive on from there.
“The League, in our eyes, is very important and we’ll certainly be going out to win every game.”
Dublin hurler Chris Crummey was at Parnell Park to help launch AIG Dub Club Health. The Heart Safety Roadshow is the first programme in the initiative that will provide training around CPR, choking, defibrillator/AED usage, storage and maintenance. Go to www.aig.ie/health to find out more.
