Where does that leave the rest of us?
Brian Fenton is taking the piss at this stage. He’s never lost a championship game for Dublin in his four years on the panel.
For two of those years, he’s been shortlisted for the Footballer of the Year award and the general consensus is that over the course of the last three years, he’s been the best and most consistent player in the country.
And by a long way too. He’s made the extraordinary ordinary from 2016 to now and that’s why we just expect this man to put in a superhuman performance every time he dons a sky blue jersey these days.
Some call it to the Cluxtons. Where you’ve made excellence the norm and you don’t get the recognition for it because of how good you are.
Brian Fenton isn’t motivated by recognition or individual accolades. He’s just motivated by winning and improving.
He’s up against it, you’d think, if he’s aiming for improvements on where he already is but he, speaking at AIG for the launch of the new Dublin jersey, issued a scary (for the rest of us) signal of intent.
“I think I still look a bit weedy, still a bit narrow up top so a bit of upper body strength. Look, it doesn’t effect me in the game thankfully. But in midfield, you’re in big exchanges — throw balls and throw-ins and stuff, they’re always nice to win. Strength is obviously always one of them,” he said.
Fenton is by no means the beefiest gaelic footballer around, but he’s still no shrinking violet and it’d take something special to brush him off the ball or to knock him out of the way.
If he thinks he’s a bit narrow up top, then the rest of us must be rakes.
Other areas he eyes improving on are GPS stats, tackling, timing, judgement and so on.
“Trying to be the fittest is always another. You’re looking at the GPS stats after the game and who beat who. Me and Ciaran have a very healthy relationship on who has the highest high-speed running in a game. Yeah, it’s based on your position, where you’re scoring, where you’re missing, were you tackling, were you giving away fouls?
“Am I giving away fouls, why am I giving away fouls? Am I coming in at the wrong time? Timing, judgement. It’s just that sort of what went well, what didn’t go well, how can I fix it in a way?”
That’s hunger, that’s drive.
“There’s nothing specific but you’re always trying to get that little, extra inch. Like, ‘Jesus, I got four attacks in this game, can I get five, can I get six? Did I miss a tackle there — that sort of stuff. Watching games back, watching clips back, looking at your opponents and trying to bring your best game to the game.”
Dublin have won it all but they’re still as hungry as they were at the start of this journey he calls a ‘fairytale.’
“There’s loads of stuff coming in that you’re looking at. Conor McGregor and how he’s trying to develop his natural movement of the body. There’s just so many weird and wonderful influences coming into GAA which is great.
“Influences of other sport, influences of gymnastics and stretching and all of that which is coming in and which is new. It’s bringing the sport on,” he said.
For now, he looks forward to the All-Stars, for which he’s a shoo-in, and the Footballer of the Year awards.
“The three of us grew up together,” he says of himself, McCaffrey and Kilkenny – the three FOTY nominees.
“We were the same age, we were playing against each other. We played Ciaran in a Féile final under-14 and he scored something ludicrous like 3-4 in that – It’s amazing how we played at such a young age, we all represent Dublin now and none of our lives have brought us elsewhere…I find it amazing that the three of us are there suited and booted in tuxedos – and we played against each other in under-8s.”
It’s an occasion he’s delighted to share with his club man Brian Howard.
“We’ve Brian Howard from my club as well, up for Young player of the Year. Raheny, our club – they’re delighted with how things are going, they’re trying to get a few bob together to get a table at the All-Stars just to have people there and just to represent the club as best we can on the night…”
Everything is going well for Brian Fenton, but he’s still striving for more.
Dublin star Brian Fenton was on hand today to help Dublin GAA and sponsors AIG Insurance to officially launch the new Dublin jersey at AIG’s head office in Dublin.
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