Dublin corner-back Philly McMahon and full-forward Eoghan O'Gara couldn't be more different. But both are united in their desire to restore Dublin to the top of the pecking order. Ryan McCann writes...
PHILLY McMahon and Eoghan O'Gara may have two All-Ireland medals each, back-to-back National League titles and a handful of Leinster Championships to their name, but the duo's roles in the current Dublin set-up couldn't be more disparate.
McMahon is the combative corner-back - the last of a dying breed perhaps in a county full of suave, polished defenders.
Guys like Jack McCaffrey, James McCarthy and Nicky Devereux bomb forward in search of scores, while the Ballymun Kickham's man is content to sit further back and engage in some the code's darker arts.
And why wouldn't he?
A Mixed Martial Artist and personal trainer, McMahon currently runs three gyms across the capital as well as FitFood, a new meal delivery service that caters to healthy eaters. He saw red along with Dublin team-mate Diarmuid Connolly in the 2013 Dublin SFC final for delivering a few body shots to the St Vincent's man and, in the build up to last year's All-Ireland final, a story filtered out about him and Alan Brogan having to be pulled apart in a training match.
Put simply, he isn't a man to be messed with and he sees nothing wrong with the odd bust-up behind closed doors.
Wasn't it Dara Ó Cinnéide who once said a scrap in Kerry training was an indication that everything was going well?
Indeed, McMahon has never picked up a single muscle or non-contact injury in his time playing football - knowing his body and how it works has been a massive help to him. On the other hand, we have Eoghan O'Gara - a man whose Dublin career has been disturbed with injury on a number of occasions. The Templeogue/Synge Street man has had to battle back from operations on both hips and last Christmas and he has had keyhole surgery on his elbow.
The powerful full-forward also had the misfortune of tearing his hamstring in the build up to Bernard Brogan's goal in the 2013 All-Ireland final.
When fit, O'Gara then has to compete with Ciaran Kilkenny, Alan Brogan, Dean Rock, Paul Mannion, Kevin McManaman, Paddy Andrews, Cormac Costello and Tomás Brady for three positions in the Dublin forward line - presuming Paul Flynn, Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan are pencilled in as starters.
"To be honest, at this time of year, it is always my number one target to be injury-free going into the New Year and, thank God, at the minute I can say I am fully fit," said O'Gara. "In the last few seasons, I haven't been so lucky so I am just delighted that I have no knocks or niggles because this year is going to be a massive season for us. "In terms of getting myself a jersey, well it goes without saying that's always the aim of the game. "If Bernard gets a game - which he usually does - you have two positions remaining in the inside line and six or seven guys fighting for that jersey. It is ferocious competition and if you don't have the hunger to get a starting jersey on your back then you will be passed over by someone who has that desire. "Lucky enough last year, I had three Championship starts including the quarter-final and semi-final so I would like to keep that going for next season."
While their positions and the expectations placed on them are different, McMahon and O'Gara's attitudes are the same.
Both players will look back on 2014 as the year they threw away a genuine All-Ireland opportunity but the Metropolitan duo have reason to be optimistic. "We have looked at the Donegal game in detail, we've analysed it and we are just keen to get going again because the earlier you get back at it the sooner you can put it behind you," said former DCU student O'Gara. "We had a good season leading up to that game, everyone was talking about us but we didn't get our complete performance on the day and that's what matters in the end. "Maybe if we had a couple of closer challenges in Leinster that would have aided us going into the business end of the All-Ireland but we can only play what is in front of us."
McMahon added: "There were a lot of things we would have changed as individuals and there are things we could have done better as a team. Everyone knows the way Dublin play football. We go out and we play one-onone and live off trying to win our individual battles. We try to be as offensive as possible and I think we will continue to do that. "If we'd stuck to the game-plan Jim set out you wouldn't know what the outcome would have been. We know another All-Ireland was there for us because we have the quality. Our collapse in that Donegal game is one thing we need to work on going into next year." Without the brilliance of Jim McGuinness to contend with, Dublin could be almost impossible to stop again next year. Their strength in depth is unrivalled anywhere else in the country. Of this year's U21 All-Ireland winning team, only Jack McCaffrey started on Gavin's senior side - and the Clontarf youngster only earned his first start in Dublin's last game of the season.
Even more surprising, All-Ireland club champions St Vincent's only had one player on the 2014 Dublin panel - Diarmuid Connolly. The competition for places will only intensify in 2015. "I wouldn't say fisticuffs, but you have to give the lads exactly what they'll get in a game," said McMahon. "It makes them better but they wouldn't thank you for it. Even if it's your own clubmate, you have to go out and perform in training. The aggression has to be there. "I'm sure Jim will try and add to that next year with a few more U21s being called up and lads who performed well for their clubs in the Dublin Championships. "Ciaran Kilkenny and Kevin O'Brien will be coming back from serious injuries next season as well and then you have Ger Brennan doing really well for St Vincent's after injury. "If you get those boys back, they will be hungry to get their spot. That keeps me on my toes. We are all looking to make amends after the Donegal game. A lot of questions were asked about us and our character so we have to answer them questions."
* PHILLY McMAHON
* EOGHAN O'GARA