Nigel Dunne was Offaly’s top scorer in the League.
He was the tenth top scorer of the whole League, was his county’s most dangerous attacker but after 28 minutes of their championship opener last weekend against Wicklow, he was called ashore.
All isn’t well in the Faithful camp this year, that much is clear. Talk of player unrest has been rife throughout the county, with a number of players opting against committing to Kerry native Stephen Wallace’s panel for one reason or another since the beginning of the year.
Last Sunday’s Leinster Championship first round loss to Wicklow brought matters to a head.
After Offaly’s first Championship defeat to the Garden County since 1898, reports broke that there was an upheaval of sorts in the dressing room at half-time of the game.
Speaking to Midlands 103 Radio, former inter-county hurling referee Brian Gavin had claimed that free-taker Dunne, who had been substituted in the first half of the game, had left the dressing room for his car at half-time.
“Nigel Dunne left the dressing room, he was heading to his car to go home, he was persuaded to come back,” said Gavin.
Dunne took to Twitter on Tuesday night to respond to these claims. He insisted that he was not headed for his car at the interval and was instead clearing his head and feeling sorry for himself, “nothing more.”
For the record, he tweeted, that he had arrived to the game on the team bus.
https://twitter.com/NigelDunne21/status/996518355048845313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.sportsjoe.ie%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php
Dunne had been reintroduced to the action by Wallace in the second half of the game, during which he would see a penalty kick saved, but seeing as Offaly went onto lose the tie, the rumblings got louder and louder.
Brian Gavin went onto claim that the Kerryman had lost the dressing room and that he and his management team were on their last legs in his aforementioned interview.
“I just can’t see Stephen Wallace and his management team lasting much longer.”
On top of this, there had been some other unsavoury rumblings from inside and outside the camp. Key man over the last few years Johnny Moloney from Tullamore had departed the panel. Meanwhile, past players Alan McNamee and Ruairi Allen questioned management on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Supes82/status/995780126771236867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishmirror.ie%2Fsport%2Fgaa%2Fgaelic-football%2Fgaelic-football-news%2Fpressure-mounts-stephen-wallace-players-12542373&tfw_creator=pat_nolan&tfw_site=irishmirror
Some very questionable decisions by Offaly management yesterday, or lack of management on the side line. Key players/leaders being pulled and some back on, expected to kick a crucial penalty. That group of players are worthy of better treatment. Sexy football???
— Ruairi Allen (@Ruairiallen_) May 14, 2018
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