IT’S FOURTEEN YEARS since Alan Dillon and Gavin Duffy shared a dressing-room on a Mayo team that journeyed to the All-Ireland minor football final.
Defeat was their lot on that occasion by three points against Down in Croke Park. They went on their seperate sporting paths after that – Dillon ploughing furrow with the Mayo senior setup and Duffy forging a career with Connacht and Harlequins.
Now they’re back together as teammates following the high-profile recent addition of Duffy to the Mayo senior setup. Next Sunday, Mayo are in championship action in the Connacht semi-final against Roscommon.
Dillon is the only survivor from that Mayo 1999 team still involved in the senior squad, placing him as an ideal candidate to speak of Duffy’s potential.
“He was the powerhouse in the midfield department. He was way more developed than a lot of us at that stage in 1999. I would have followed him with Connacht and with Ireland. It’s great to have him back. He’s a good fella around the camp.
“He keeps everyone honest and he’ll add that couple of percent to everyone’s game that is of benefit to the overall squad. He’s equipping himself well in training and he’s physical. His physical presence is something that we probably didn’t have bar Aidan and Seamie O’Shea in that middle third department.”
Duffy may have been the midfield king back in minor days but it’s still unclear where he is best suited to on the senior stage.
“It’s up in the air,” says Dillon. “We probably need to see a bit more of where he’s most comfortable. But in and around that area in training he’s a hard man to have.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a manufactured footballer, he has natural ability. If you compare him to different footballers, he’s similar to some of our current lads. He’s not a million miles off. It will take time to feel comfortable in that environment and playing with that intensity.
“From speaking to him, the big thing he notices is the quickness of the turn of the feet, that type of stuff. It’s just the intensity of the game and where it’s gone from when he was 18 or 19 years of age. He’s come to grips with it, the five-a-side games, the crossfield games, the simulate games – he’s learning every time.”
After the disappointment of Mayo losing two All-Ireland finals, Duffy’s arrival has been a boost to their camp. His experience as a professional sports person has been tapped into.
“Lads would bounce ideas off him,” reveals Dillon. “Try and dissect what he was doing at the professional level, like how Ireland did in 2011 in the World Cup? How did they react to that?
“It’s not a thing like he gives open presentations and that type of stuff. It’s an internal thing. He’s an addition. First of all, he’s a Mayo man so James (Horan) is entitled to bring him back, even if he was playing club football. He’s part of the squad, that’s the most important thing.”
