The Rookie: An Interview with Jonny Cooper

When Jonny Cooper captained Dublin to the All-Ireland U21 title back in 2010, it seemed he was destined for a long and distinguished career as a senior inter-county player.

In an interview published in the match programme for the U21 final - which Dublin won by 1-10 to 1-8 after Donegal captain Michael Murphy smashed a last-minute penalty off the crossbar - Cooper was asked about his hopes for wearing the Sky Blue jersey in the senior grade in the future.

His older brother, Niall, was a member of the previous Dublin side to win an All-Ireland U21 title, in 2003, but he failed to then graduate to the elite level with his team-mates Alan Brogan, Conal Keaney, Bryan Cullen and Paul Griffin, who formed the backbone of the Dublin senior team for the next decade.

"They put themselves in the shop window throughout that campaign and now look where they are - they are doing very good things for Dublin football and football in general around the county," Cooper said in April 2010.

"But it's one step at a time. I'm focused on this campaign and this final at the moment. We will look at other things as they come down the road."

At the time, he didn't realise just how far down the road that would be. Under Pat Gilroy, the Na Fianna man struggled to get a look-in, and when Dublin had their year of years in 2011, he was out in the cold.

In fact, Cooper had just one ticket for the 2011 final win over Kerry and watched the game on his own in Croke Park, wondering, as Dublin celebrated their first All-Ireland title since 1995, if his chance had already gone.

"I would have looked on in 2011 when they won it the last time. I was in the Hogan Stand and obviously as a fan that day I was absolutely delighted, jumping around.

"I went down on my own that day because it was only the only ticket I could get.

"It was definitely a motivating factor, seeing these guys winning on the biggest stage of all in Gaelic football. It was something that spurred me on and something that you look back on at the time and you wanted to be there and you wanted to play but sometimes that's the reality - you weren't good enough for whatever reason."

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The following year, again under Gilroy, Cooper moved up the pecking order and got his chance in the Allianz League, but by the time the summer rolled around, the amount of game time he got in the championship amounted to 12 minutes in the Leinster opener against Louth.

He floated around on the fringes of the panel in 2012, making cameo appearances here and there, but he finally got his big break at senior level when Jim Gavin, the Dublin U21 manager in 2010, took over from Gilroy at the end of last season.

"You go away and you work on things and I suppose in 2012 I was lucky enough to get a couple of games and some experience in Croke Park and other places like that. All these little things helped going in to the time when Jim (Gavin) got the chance.

"Jim gave me the call this year and I was lucky enough to have that small bit of experience - albeit it was a very small bit - but it definitely helped in terms of preparing for the Allianz League games we had this year and then going into my first championship game, which was a new experience, and then building on that in every game.

"I would say it definitely helped when Jim got the job - absolutely. Jim made me very aware that I was there for the different skill sets that I had, at the start of the campaign and at the start of when he came in.

"It was the same with every player. You are under a trial period for a couple of months; if you did the job you got the jersey and if you didn't you didn't get the jersey.

"I don't think it really mattered if you captained them underage or if you were his best friend or whatever, it's just the way it is with Jim that if you are playing well you get the rewards and vice-versa."

Cooper is 23 now and will make just his seventh championship appearance in Sunday's All-Ireland final against Mayo. His team-mate on that U21 team, and the man who mans the edge of the square inside him in the Dublin full-back line, Rory O'Carroll, already has an All-Ireland medal and has played 24 championship games for Dublin. Another contemporary, James McCarthy, will pull on the blue jersey for the 17th time on Sunday, both relative veterans by comparison.

And yet, with just one full season under his belt, Cooper seems utterly unfazed by the prospect of playing in an All-Ireland final.

"It's definitely a bonus because you always dream of putting on a blue jersey and I suppose more so now that I am getting to play, to start in the last couple of games is even more of a bonus," he says.

"But that responsibility is always there that you are representing the other 20 guys that don't manage to get a jersey and the squad guys that don't manage to get into the match-day squad.

"We are all acutely aware of the responsibilities that we are under going into the game whether you are starting or a sub in terms of representing the people who aren't lucky enough to get a jersey."

Despite being a relative novice, Jim Gavin's faith in Cooper is absolute - he has started 14 of Dublin's 15 competitive games this year (see panel below), with Dublin's only defeat in 2013, the group Allianz League game against Tyrone, the one game he failed to feature in. While he was taken off with 20 minutes to go in the quarter-final win over Cork, only goalkeeper and captain Stephen Cluxton has more game time than him this year.

He was also one of three players rolled out to face media questioning at Dublin's pre All-Ireland press conference. Cooper simply doesn't seem the type to let the pressure get to him and says he doesn't plan to change his usual pre-match routine just because it's an All-Ireland final.

"I will do the same thing I have always done - I'll surround myself with the people who I know and who I trust and ultimately the people who won't go and talk about the match with you.

"There's enough talking being done. There are people who really and genuinely want to talk about the game in good spirits but sometimes you do get bogged down with people asking you questions and that sort of thing.

"I'll take a little step back and do the same thing I have done for every other game and focus on the job in hand."

Having a 15,000 word thesis on 'Agility in Gaelic Football' for his Masters in Exercise Physiology in DCU to hand in eight days after the final has helped take his mind off the game.

"I head up to DCU but I stay to certain routes of the college! I know what doors to go in and not go in," he jokes.

"I'm doing my thesis so that's the real world because I need a job at the end of the day so that's what keeps me focused and away from the whole football side of things.

"People still come up asking about the game, but in all fairness they don't mean any harm. That's just the way it is, they want to know how X or Y is and how you are feeling.

"That's fine, but sometimes if you can avoid it you then don't have to think about the job that's at hand and it's another little bit of pressure if you can try and do your own thing."

In the All-Ireland semi-final, the Dublin full-back line came in for plenty of stick for looking exposed at times, but that is probably an inevitable consequence of playing the high-risk 15-on-15 game that has worked so well for Gavin and Dublin this year. Cooper locked horns with James O'Donoghue and it wasn't until late in the second half, when Kieran Donaghy came on as a sub, that Dublin dropped Paul Flynn back to provide an extra layer of defensive cover.

Given the prevalence of defensive systems in the modern game, going back to that traditional style takes a bit of getting used to, but Cooper is happy to face that challenge head-on.

"It was a new challenge and something as a defender...we often speak about the art of defending and it's good to challenge yourself, just you against your man without a sweeper or a wing-forward - or whoever it happens to be - sitting in front of you giving that extra safety net.

"It's a bit more of a challenge, but I like to think that it focuses the mind a bit more for us guys in the full-back line and makes you a good bit sharper, and doesn't give you the chance to let up."

Should Mayo's Cillian O'Connor recover from a shoulder injury, there is every chance that Jim Gavin will once again look to his young lieutenant to mark the second highest scorer in the championship.

It's still unclear if O'Connor will be fit to start, but Cooper is unequivocal when asked if he would like to face the Ballintubber man: "I hope he plays. He's certainly one of the best and he's been shooting the lights out all year. I hope he recovers and gets his shirt."

That's been the story of Cooper's nascent Dublin career to date: he's stood up to every single challenge and thrived on the responsibility Jim Gavin has placed in him. An All-Ireland final is just one more step on the road.

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Allianz League Appearances 2013: 70 (mins) v Cork; 70 v Kerry; 70 v Mayo; 70 v Kildare; 0 v Tyrone; 70 v Down; 70 v Donegal; 63 v Mayo (semi-final); 70 v Tyrone (final).

Championship Appearances 2013: 70 (mins) v Westmeath; 70 v Kildare; 70 v Meath; 50 v Cork; 70 v Kerry.