SEVEN-TIME All-Ireland winner John Small is ‘unlikely’ to be involved with the Dublin footballers this year.
Dessie Farrell’s side has already been rocked by major departures recently, including the loss of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton to retirement. Farrell has also revealed that Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey and Michael Fitzsimons are also unlikely to feature.
There had been speculation around Small’s availability for 2025, and his Dublin teammate Ciarán Kilkenny has confirmed they are likely to be without the Ballymun Kickhams star.
“It’s unlikely John’s going to be with us this year,” he said at the launch of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
”He knows he’d be welcome to come if he wanted to but it’s unlikely that he’ll be back this year.”
In addition to winning seven All-Ireland titles with Dublin, Small also won an All-Star as a defender in 2020, 10 Leinster senior titles, four National League medals, and two All-Ireland U21 medals.
His last appearance for Farrell’s team was their All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Galway last summer. The 32-year-old subsequently represented Leinster in the the interpro games in Croke Park in October.
Remarking on Dublin’s high profile departures, Kilkenny noted that he will miss his former teammates but that their absence creates opportunities for new players to blossom in the panel. He estimates that 18 new players have been afforded game time throughout the league and that he is excited about the continued growth of the group.
“It’s more so [that] you’re sad. They’re your friends and they won’t be around the place as much anymore and you miss them big time.
“They’ve given such service to the team. We fully respect their decision.
“It’s about giving service for as long as I can to my teammates. This is my 14th season and I get a great buzz from encouraging the younger guys and being a mentor to them.
“It’s a great opportunity for lads to step up. Other players will come out of themselves and have more responsibility and that will improve them as leaders.”
Among the newcomers is Eoghan O’Donnell who has switched from Dublin hurlers to the football squad this season. Kilkenny has been impressed with the speed of his transition.
“He’s so powerful, so strong. He’s such a great ball winner and wants to go at the goal the whole time. To bring in his learnings from the hurlers, he just wants to grow all the time. Absolutely delighted to have him in.”
Kilkenny welcomes the new rule enhancements that have been introduced. The Castleknock player has availed of the new two-point rule, finding his range from beyond the arc against Donegal and Kerry so far. He mentions the influence of the wind factor with that rule and feels the score will be more difficult to achieve when the summer weather kicks in.
“Teams are building up leads but as we’ve seen, opposing teams are able to peg that back if they’re able to score a couple of two-pointers.
“If it was still conditions, I would imagine two-pointers would be quite challenging. It would need a very good skill to get it over but with the breeze, you’re in a position to caress the ball over the bar.”
There was confusion and frustration regarding the 20-second kickout rule during Dublin’s clash with Armagh last weekend. Evan Comerford and Ethan Rafferty were both penalised for apparently exceeding the allotted time. Kilkenny says there hasn’t been any discussion about the matter among the group yet but added that teams want “as much time as you can to prepare for these scenarios.”
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Kilkenny also says that he was punished for infringing the 3v3 rule.
“Brian Howard kicked the ball to me, I ran out to win possession [and] as I won the ball, the momentum brought me over the line and literally a split second after that, a player crossed the line so we had only two players. It was frustrating for me because I brought the ball over but I broke the rules.”
Ciarán Kilkenny was speaking as an ambassador for the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic ambassador between Kansas State University and Iowa State University this August. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ie
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All-Ireland winner John Small 'unlikely' to be involved with Dublin in 2025
SEVEN-TIME All-Ireland winner John Small is ‘unlikely’ to be involved with the Dublin footballers this year.
Dessie Farrell’s side has already been rocked by major departures recently, including the loss of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton to retirement. Farrell has also revealed that Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey and Michael Fitzsimons are also unlikely to feature.
There had been speculation around Small’s availability for 2025, and his Dublin teammate Ciarán Kilkenny has confirmed they are likely to be without the Ballymun Kickhams star.
“It’s unlikely John’s going to be with us this year,” he said at the launch of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
”He knows he’d be welcome to come if he wanted to but it’s unlikely that he’ll be back this year.”
In addition to winning seven All-Ireland titles with Dublin, Small also won an All-Star as a defender in 2020, 10 Leinster senior titles, four National League medals, and two All-Ireland U21 medals.
His last appearance for Farrell’s team was their All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Galway last summer. The 32-year-old subsequently represented Leinster in the the interpro games in Croke Park in October.
Remarking on Dublin’s high profile departures, Kilkenny noted that he will miss his former teammates but that their absence creates opportunities for new players to blossom in the panel. He estimates that 18 new players have been afforded game time throughout the league and that he is excited about the continued growth of the group.
“It’s more so [that] you’re sad. They’re your friends and they won’t be around the place as much anymore and you miss them big time.
“They’ve given such service to the team. We fully respect their decision.
“It’s about giving service for as long as I can to my teammates. This is my 14th season and I get a great buzz from encouraging the younger guys and being a mentor to them.
“It’s a great opportunity for lads to step up. Other players will come out of themselves and have more responsibility and that will improve them as leaders.”
Among the newcomers is Eoghan O’Donnell who has switched from Dublin hurlers to the football squad this season. Kilkenny has been impressed with the speed of his transition.
“He’s so powerful, so strong. He’s such a great ball winner and wants to go at the goal the whole time. To bring in his learnings from the hurlers, he just wants to grow all the time. Absolutely delighted to have him in.”
Kilkenny welcomes the new rule enhancements that have been introduced. The Castleknock player has availed of the new two-point rule, finding his range from beyond the arc against Donegal and Kerry so far. He mentions the influence of the wind factor with that rule and feels the score will be more difficult to achieve when the summer weather kicks in.
“Teams are building up leads but as we’ve seen, opposing teams are able to peg that back if they’re able to score a couple of two-pointers.
“If it was still conditions, I would imagine two-pointers would be quite challenging. It would need a very good skill to get it over but with the breeze, you’re in a position to caress the ball over the bar.”
There was confusion and frustration regarding the 20-second kickout rule during Dublin’s clash with Armagh last weekend. Evan Comerford and Ethan Rafferty were both penalised for apparently exceeding the allotted time. Kilkenny says there hasn’t been any discussion about the matter among the group yet but added that teams want “as much time as you can to prepare for these scenarios.”
Kilkenny also says that he was punished for infringing the 3v3 rule.
“Brian Howard kicked the ball to me, I ran out to win possession [and] as I won the ball, the momentum brought me over the line and literally a split second after that, a player crossed the line so we had only two players. It was frustrating for me because I brought the ball over but I broke the rules.”
Ciarán Kilkenny was speaking as an ambassador for the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic ambassador between Kansas State University and Iowa State University this August. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.ie
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