IRELAND International Rules skipper Bernard Brogan says he’d “love an oul trip down the country” with Dublin in the Championship next season.
The three-time All-Ireland winner has yet to play outside Croke Park in his nine-year inter-county career and says he’d relish the opportunity to hit the road with the Dubs. Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park has been mentioned as a possible venue for Dublin next summer – going there would be the All-Ireland champions’ first road trip since they travelled to Pearse Park to meet Longford in 2007.
“I think it would be great for the game, great for wherever we went,” said Brogan.
“The Dubs fans would love to go on the road. We'll play anywhere we're put, we just want to play football and to play for Dublin, so if we're asked to go down the country, it's great. I was on the bench for the last time we were away in Longford. The sun was splitting the stones and it was an unreal day. We only just got out of jail down there, Mark Vaughan got a goal.
“But I remember talking to people and this conversation always comes up and they say it was the best day of commerce the town had ever done, the best day's craic and it really does help the whole town and the energy around the place. So we'd be delighted to travel if asked and obviously playing in Croke Park, if you ask the teams we play against, everyone wants to play in Croke Park as well and we've been lucky enough to play here a lot.
“But if we're asked to move down the road, no panic at all. We'd love an oul trip down the country.”
Brogan was at Croke Park on Tuesday to look ahead to Ireland’s one-off International Rules Test against Australia on November 21. He hasn’t played for his country since 2010, so the Dublin Allstar admitted he was pleasantly surprised to be named skipper for this year’s series, particularly since his captaincy experience amounts to one season with Maynooth Freshers during his college days.
“It’s a call I didn’t expect to get,” the Oliver Plunkett’s clubman admitted.
“Joe [Kernan] rang me a few weeks ago and asked me to get involved and said he wanted me to be captain. I haven’t done much captaincy in my life with club and county, but I’ve been on the end of some great leaders.
“All I can do is try and do my best for the team, try and motivate them. We’re up against a really strong Australian side, so these lads are all top inter-county lads, the best of the best in the country, so we don’t need much motivating. It’s about trying to get everyone to row in together, have us all singing off the same hymn sheet and trying to put the systems of play into place.”
Brogan wasn’t called up to Paul Earley’s squad for the trip to Australia last year. The Aussies prevailed 56-46 in the Test at Perth and the 2015 Player of the Year contender says lessons have been learned from that defeat.
“I think there were times when we were a little bit nervy on the ball,” he said.
“I think the worst that can happen to you [in Gaelic football] is the block of a ball, whereas when you are playing against the Australians, if you hold on and try and compose yourself too much you’ll end up on the ground with two or three lads on top of you. It’s about being quick and trying to do things really fast and stay out of the tackle.”
