The beginning of the Allianz League has been a strange experience for Dean Rock, his first winter away from the Dublin setup in over a decade.
After last July's All-Ireland final triumph against Kerry, Rock stepped away from inter-county football as the Dubs' all-time leading scorer.
The Ballymun Kickhams forward is settling into retirement well with his young family - he married long-time partner and Dublin ladies star Niamh McEvoy in the afterglow of last year's All-Ireland success.
His daughter is only a year and a half old, and he tells us this week that bringing Sadie to matches as a spectator is one of the aspects of retired life he enjoys the most.
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Dean Rock has no fear for the future of Dublin football
There was some surprise that Rock is the only big name of Dublin's dynasty team who stepped away after last summer's return to the Hogan Stand steps.
Pictured is former Dublin Gaelic footballer and Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup winner with DCU, Dean Rock as he looks ahead to the conclusion of the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup. This year, through its #FirstClassRivals campaign, Electric Ireland celebrated the unexpected alliances formed between county rivals as they come together in pursuit of some of the most coveted titles across Camogie and GAA. Photo: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Rock tells us on Tuesday that he was somewhat surprised not to see some of his fellow veterans step aside:
I suppose naturally enough the age profile of the team is old enough. Obviously the guys felt that they were able to go again and give everything they had to the cause.
For me, personally, it just wasn’t right. The time commitment with Dublin and inter-county football in general is just massive. You’re probably arriving at training at five o’clock in the evening and getting home at ten.
Doing that four or five times a week, pushing your weekends away…it just wasn’t something that I could do with a young family at home and different work commitments as well.
As the business end of the 2023 championship rolled in, Rock started to understand that it would be his final year on the inter-county scene, and began to appreciate the little things about the Dublin experience that bit more.
One surprise addition to the Dublin setup as crunch time arrived last year was the returning Stephen Cluxton. The legendary keeper had stepped away at the end of the 2020 season but, at 41 years old, he not only returned to the panel but won his starting place back and claimed an All-Star along with a record-breaking ninth All-Ireland medal.
20 September 2015; Dublin captain Stephen Cluxton, left, and Dean Rock ahead of the game. GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
It was among the most remarkable Gaelic football stories of recent years - and Rock jokes that Cluxton will now be in no rush to step aside for a second time.
Stephen...we'll probably get another 15 years out of him and then he'll probably have to step aside!
With a strong selection of up-and-coming goalkeepers vying to take the long-term mantle as Dublin goalkeeper, Rock thinks having the experience of Cluxton in the camp can only be a positive:
Dublin are very secure in goals with Evan Comerford and David O'Hanlon and there's another young lad from Ballymun Kickhams, David Leonard, who's the U20 goalkeeper. There's loads of goalkeepers for Dublin which is brilliant.
Having Stephen there is hugely important for the group, to have his experience and the standards he sets around the place.
He gets himself right, he stays in his own lane in terms of ensuring he's doing everything that he needs to do to be the best version of himself. And then away from that, when he's got his own ship in order, he's very good with defenders in terms of organising kickouts, going into the finer details of movement patterns and stuff like that as well.
He's a standard-bearer in terms of this is how he behaves as a Dublin footballer. His presence, his ability to work and do the real mundane hard stuff is vitally important. His influence is huge among the group.
Despite expectations that many would join Rock in stepping into retirement ahead of 2024, Dublin fans will be pleasantly surprised that the returns of James McCarthy, Mick Fitzsimons, et. al are seeming likely as the Dubs seek to defend Sam Maguire.
Of course, their eventual departures are inevitable - but Rock has no fear that they will leave the Dubs' fortunes in the hands of a more-than-capable new generation of stars when that time comes.
30 July 2023; Dublin players, from left, Brian Fenton, Cian Murphy. Lorcan O'Dell, Niall Scully, Con O'Callaghan, Brian Howard and Ross McGarry celebrate victory at the final whistle of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
He believes that last year's All-Ireland triumph will have taught the younger stars some valuable lessons, and help them to take up the mantle when the old guard eventually steps away:
There's a lot of younger guys there as well, so I think the older group probably took it upon themselves [in 2023] to make sure they got a taste of it. I think it's very important they got to experience that while we're still there.
Now they know what it takes to get over the line. Once you get to experience that once in your career, you want that again and again. That's why it's probably more important for the future generation of Dublin footballers.
Luke Breathnach played against Monaghan so there is integration for younger lads on the panel. It's great that they get to play with the likes of Brian Fenton, Ciarán Kilkenny, Con O'Callaghan and that will help them with their development.
In terms of what is next for Rock, he says he is looking forward to some time away from the hustle and bustle of the inter-county scene, and spending more time with his family. Coaching with his club in Ballymun is on the cards, and he hopes to travel to games as a fan in the year to come - he already made the trek to Castlebar last weekend for Dublin's league defeat to Mayo.
He also hints that punditry is something he is excited to explore more, having filled in for RTÉ during the club championship. The passion with which he speaks of the game suggests the Dublin legend would be a brilliant addition to The Sunday Game panel, should RTÉ come calling.
Dublin without Dean Rock will be a strange sight in 2024, but it seems as though a few of his old teammates will stick along to try and retain Sam Maguire this summer.
Dean Rock spoke to Balls.ie ahead of the conclusion of the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup.
This year, through its #FirstClassRivals campaign, Electric Ireland celebrated the unexpected alliances formed between county rivals as they come together in pursuit of some of the most coveted titles across Camogie and GAA.
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