TALENTED Dublin forward Diarmuid Connolly says he has got used to teams lining him up for special treatment and provocation during big games.
Connolly reacted to a cynical pat on the head from Westmeath's James Dolan during last Sunday's Leinster football final by hauling the wing-back to the ground. He was cautioned for the indiscipline, while he received a red card last August for a similar grapple with Mayo's Lee Keegan in the drawn All-Ireland semi-final with Mayo, though he also appeared to punch in that instance.
The red card was subsequently quashed by the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) and Dublin's plea of self-defence to the DRA was backed up by comments from Keegan himself that he engaged in 'black arts' by provoking the St Vincent's man. The admission of provocation this time came from Westmeath manager Tom Cribbin, who claimed after last Sunday's provincial final that Connolly "can get a bit excited at times and, probably, we were looking for him to do so".
The player himself took part in a rare media engagement on Tuesday, the launch of the All-Ireland series of the Football Championship, and said being wound up by opponents isn't anything new: "It's very much out of my control what other teams are trying to do to opposition players," said the three-time All-Ireland medalist.
"I just have to embrace that and try to play my own game, that's all I can do. Is it hard? Not really, no. I've learned to deal with it a little bit. You just have to take it play-by-play and try to get on the ball and make things happen. Of course you learn. You are more experienced, this is my 10th inter-county season now, so you learn and you grow as you get older, I suppose."
Former Kerry star Darragh O Se claimed last year that provoking Connolly or "pulling his tail" could be a way of dealing with his significant threat. O Se stated that it might be worth seeing if Connolly's "temper is as reformed as they say. It's nothing to be proud of but, if you think a player has a weakness, you have a responsibility to find it".
O Se was taken to task later in the year by Dublin GAA secretary John Costello, who stated in his annual report that the Kerry man's remarks were "mean spirited" and they "as good as placed a target on the back" of Connolly: "I don't really listen to the good or the bad," said Connolly.
"So whatever Darragh O Se wants to talk about, that's his own thing."
Asked for his opinion on Costello's report, Connolly kicked it to touch: "I didn't get that memo, no."
It is, of course, no surprise that teams are targeting Connolly as he has developed into one of Dublin's most important players, with his unique ability to pick a way through the packed defences they're regularly coming up against. Just last weekend, Westmeath played with two sweepers and, though Connolly says that's a normal challenge to face now, he admitted it was a "surprise" when Donegal played so defensively in the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final, a low scoring game he was sent-off in.
"If you ask any footballer, they want to play man-on-man," he said.
"That's kind of traditional GAA and, when you were a young lad, that's how you played it but, let's be honest, no-one plays like that any more. It's just something you go through, you learn. We played against Donegal in 2011 and we learned so much from that game. It was like a surprise for us at the time. Now, everyone is doing some sort of a hybrid or some sort of a defensive structure and it just takes time to break it down. You just have to learn and grow and try to break it down as best you can."
The bouts of red mist aside, Connolly has improved his game beyond all recognition in the last five years or so, having struggled for consistency after first hitting the Dublin scene in 2007: "Well, you have a different outlook now," the 29-year-old said.
"This is my 10th season, 2007 was my first season, going into it. You're kind of a little bit overawed. It's your first time training with a Dublin team. It's your first time running out in Croke Park in front of 80,000. It's a completely different experience now and back then, but one I'm really enjoying still."
