DUBLIN FOOTBALLERS CAN learn from Kilkenny hurlers’ failed five-in-a-row bid of 2010 as they seek to make history this year, says Cats legend JJ Delaney.
The Sky Sports pundit was a key member of the Kilkenny team that lost to Tipperary nine years ago as they aimed to reach the unique milestone which the Dubs are targeting this season.
It was a feat Kerry also fell short of in 1982 when Seamus Darby scored that famous match-winning goal for Offaly in the Croke Park decider.
“The hype is very, very difficult to overcome,” Delaney told The42.
“If you go down to the shop for a litre of milk or a newspaper, people are talking to you about it; it takes over the whole county.
“It’s all people want to talk to you about. You just can’t escape it. You’d be at work and lads would be asking the same questions. You’d end up answering the same questions maybe 10 times over the day.
“It’s the sort of thing that you can’t get away from and something the Dublin players are going to have to deal with this summer.
“It will get into your head if you’re talking about it, especially the five-in-a-row. It’s a motivation and if you win Leinster and get to an All-Ireland semi-final, it gets more real and the more the year goes on the more real it gets.
“You begin to let yourself think about winning it because it’s an opportunity that you’ll never get back. Dublin will only get one opportunity to do this and if they do win it, they’re making history.
“Fair enough, within team meetings it’ll never be mentioned, but individually you let your mind wander. It’s human nature.”
Asked if there are lessons to be learned from his county’s 2010 demise, Delaney admitted there were and has warned Jim Gavin’s men of the challenges they’ll face in the form of extra-determined opponents.
“They can learn from the publicity and how we dealt with it, or how we didn’t deal with it, more than anything,” he added.
“With the planning that goes in, especially with Dublin in that they’re so professional, they will look into it, I’d say, and see where the pitfalls where.
“Everyone’s going to raise their game against Dublin this year. You’ll have a lot of motivation from the likes of Kerry, Tyrone and Galway, and Dublin are going to have to raise their game, but they’ve to get their own house in order first and if they can get their motivation right, they should be a match for anyone.
“The opportunity to get five-in-a-row, we were beaten by the better team on the day in 2010.
“All we could have done at that stage was to come back and win it the following year, which we did, but when you look back on your career, you always have 2010 in your head.”
JJ Delaney was speaking as Sky Sports announced its GAA fixtures for the 2019 Championship. A total of 20 live, and 14 exclusive, fixtures of Championship action will be available on Sky’s multi-platform offering throughout the season.
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