Injecting new blood the right move for Dubs

A WEEK and a half away from beginning the defence of their All-Ireland SFC title Pat Gilroy has wisely drafted a number of the successful U21 team into his Championship panel as he bids to add a little bit of freshness to a team whose biggest opponent this year could well be themselves.

Since the introduction of the qualifiers, only Kerry (2006, 2007) have managed to complete back-to-back All-Ireland successes, and when you consider how meekly Cork in 2011, and Kerry in 2010 bowed out of the championship, new blood has to be good for reigniting the hunger within the squad.

While most of the attention and spotlight might be on talented forward Ciarán Kilkenny, pacey wing-back Jack McCaffrey, who impressed for Clontarf in the half-forward line in the Dublin SFC last week, and midfielder Emmet ó Conghaile may well prove to be two aces in the pack when football hits the business end in August.