With the Gaelic football championship now down to the final four teams, it feels strange to see that Dublin are absent from the semi-final lineup.
The Dubs were many people's favourites to life the Sam Maguire this summer, retaining the title they regained in 2022. They had been motoring along nicely throughout the season, with it being expected that they would kick up a gear or two in the All-Ireland series.
However, that was not the case. They could have few arguments about their loss to Galway last weekend, with Padraic Joyce's side running out as deserved winners on the day.
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Dean Rock expecting wholesale changes for Dublin in 2025
In the aftermath of that game, the conversation naturally turned towards some potential retirements in the Dublin panel ahead of the 2025 season.
Their squad consists of quite a few players who have been soldiering away at inter-county level for over a decade, with the likes of Stephen Cluxton, James McCarthy, and Mick Fitzsimons the most obvious candidates to step aside. However, some feel that the changes may be even more wholesale than many predicting.
Writing in the Irish Times, Dean Rock said that he could also see a few players in their early 30s stepping away from the Dublin panel next year.
I suppose the likes of James McCarthy, Mick Fitzsimons and Stephen Cluxton are the three players most people have been wondering about, but there could be other guys stepping away too.
You have a lot of lads in around the 30-32 age bracket, they might be looking at progressing their work and family life. Some might want to travel.
There are difficult decisions for many players to make over the coming weeks but while it might be the end for some individuals.
It will be certainly interesting to see just how different Dublin look next year, with there being little doubt that the county are set to go through a transitional period over the next couple of seasons.
The only question is how competitive they will be while those changes occur.
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