THERE MAY BE too much of an emphasis on intangible concepts such as ‘hunger’ and ‘momentum’ when it comes to sport, but that doesn’t mean the latter shouldn’t have a place in the GAA says former Dublin star Tomás Quinn.
Quinn, who retired from the inter-county scene in 2012, was speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash between Derry and Dublin in the Allianz National League Division 1 final and the St. Vincent’s forward believes the Oak Leaf county in particular would get a major boost from a league title.
“Any time you get to a final you obviously want to win, particularly when it’s a national competition.
“Both teams will be looking towards the summer and this game will be used as a stepping stone for the championship but for Derry, to potentially go into a championship with a league title after beating Dublin in the final and Mayo in the semi-final, that would be huge.
“Games like this help set them up for a good summer.”
Key for Sunday’s game will be the tussle between a returning Emmett McGuckin for Derry and Rory O’Carroll in the Dublin full-back line.
“For me, Rory’s the best full-back in the country so it’ll be interesting to see.
“I mean, Derry have some very good forwards and they inter-change a lot of their forwards so they’re comfortable on the ball but I think it’ll be an interesting battle this weekend.
“There’s a few other areas too, the midfield one is another stand-out battle for me.
“Derry have some of the best midfielders in the country but it’ll be interesting to see how they perform here in Croke Park against Dublin.”
And the Croke Park effect is something the recent Club All-Ireland winner thinks will be key, not just for Sunday’s final but throughout the championship.
“Even though he won’t be playing Sunday, Cormac Costello has the potential to be a huge talent and I think we’re going to see that soon.
“Places like Croke Park suit certain players – you see a different Alan Brogan in Croke Park than you do in other grounds – and I think Cormac might be one of those players, he’s born to play here.
“You see the skill level he has, the speed he has, the ability to kick off both feet and he knows when to go by people and when to shoot.
“I know he picked up an injury last summer and so this will probably be the first time the rest of the country get to see him but I know he’s been a standout under age player and he’s been developing and please God he wins an All-Ireland with the U21s next week and we see the best of him during the summer. ”
The aforementioned Brogan could play a big role on Sunday and throughout the championship too, with Quinn suggesting he’d be in Jim Gavin’s starting XV even if injury hadn’t robbed the Dubs’ boss of Ciarán Kilkenny for the season.
“I think [Brogan]‘s been outstanding. It took him a game or two to kind of find his legs but that’s natural after the layoff he had.
“I’ve an issue when fellas write a guy off just ’cause they’re over 30.
“Alan was performing at such a high level, I’d no doubt he was going to come back and make a big contribution the last day and some of his performances so far, he’s already put himself back out there as one of the elite players in the country.
“Once he stays healthy and his body co-operates then there’s no reason he can’t keep doing what he’s doing.”
Tomás Quinn was speaking at Croke Park as the Stadium continues its preparations for the Croke Park Classic on August 30.
Additional reporting from Stephen Doyle of 98FM.
