Dunning bowled over by players’ commitment

As Noel Dunning relaxes at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence and reflects on what has been a memorable campaign to date, he finds it hard to ignore the commitment displayed by his players ahead of Saturday evening's Connacht final against Galway in Castlebar.

Before Dunning sits down for a chat, he speaks to the first arrivals ahead of training that evening. The group that has gathered in a dressing room within the Bekan-based facility just outside Ballyhaunis has travelled down together from Dublin.

Captain Bobby Nugent was one of the first to be picked up along the way at 3 p.m. as the group arrives at the Mayo venue before 6.40 p.m. on a fine Wednesday evening. With training commencing at 7.30 p.m., Nugent and his team-mates were likely to land back in the capital north of midnight.

This is a familiar routine for the Dublin-based players and with others making the journey down from Limerick, Galway and Jordanstown since the group first assembled late last year, Dunning has seen first-hand the effort put in by the group.

“You can only commend them for the effort and commitment they have given from when we started until now. We have four or five guys in Limerick who make the journey during the week. We have eight lads in Dublin and Maynooth making the journey. We have lads in Galway and one guy in Jordanstown.

“If they can’t make it for whatever reason, I can’t throw my toys out of the pram and say, well look if you can’t make training, thanks but no thanks. You have to be fair with them. College or work has to come first. Football is secondary.

“You just have to accept whatever they can give you. I can’t question their commitment. On Monday, they're doing conditioning runs, they're in the gym on Tuesday, we have a field session on Wednesday, Thursday is another gym session, Friday, another pitch session, Saturday might entail another gym session, a day off or a game, and Sunday is a day off, training or game. It is a huge commitment when you look at it that way.

“Everything is tracked, everything is monitored. We have GPS on them at training. They log into Strava. They put their gym sessions up and running sessions as well, so there is no hiding place. They know that so they are accountable.

“If anybody misses anything, then it is seen straight away. You can’t question their integrity, honesty, commitment, any of that stuff. It has been top class, and it is no accident or fluke if you look at that effort and commitment that they are in a Connacht final. Will it take them further? Who knows. I hope so.” 

The St. Aidan’s man believes his side’s late comebacks against Mayo, Sligo and Galway to rescue draws in all three games was a combination of the work done in training alongside players taking responsibility.

The opening game of the championship against Mayo was a real test of character. After shipping three goals in the opening 20 minutes at Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon could have crumbled. Instead, they outplayed their opponents for the remainder of the game, with Shane McGinley’s late free ensuring a share of the spoils.

Dunning noted that starting with a point on the board was important in a ferociously competitive round-robin campaign.

In his eyes, this group has shown character from an early age, citing Roscommon’s comeback from 11 points down to defeat Galway in the Connacht minor championship back in 2021 as a sign of their collective resolve.

“Character was never in question with these lads. I think they were ten points down in the Connacht minor semi-final against Galway and they came back and won so there was never a question of their character. It was proven to be correct to trust their character against Mayo.

“Lesser teams might have gone three goals down against Mayo and thrown the towel in but that is not what these lads are about. The two things demanded of them from the start were to work hard and never give up. They did that and they clawed their way back into the game,” he noted.

Dunning believes his side have found a healthy balance between enjoying the occasion they will experience next Saturday and not letting it overwhelm them.

“It is all about letting them enjoy the build-up. Connacht finals don’t come along at any age group too often. Let them enjoy the build-up and let them soak it up. There is a game there to be won. We know what we are aiming for and what we want out of it. In fairness, they seem quite focused and I don’t think anything is going to detract them from that,” he concluded.