DESSIE Farrell has been boosted by the reported return of John Small to the Dublin panel.
As recently as March 6, Ciarán Kilkenny had implied that it was unlikely Small would be back in blue at any point across 2025.
At the time Kilkenny said: “Yeah, it’s unlikely John’s going to be back with us this year.
“But he knows more than anything that the door is open from there, but it’s very unlikely that he’s going to be back this year.
“John, he’s an absolute powerful specimen, absolute powerhouse.
“He could nullify a key forward and then go up to pitch and clip a couple of scores or get a goal or make a couple of big offensive plays.
“He offers so much in terms of his attitude, his mindset and underrated foot skills, he’s got incredible foot skills and control of the ball.
“So John will be missed but look it’s a good opportunity for another player to step up.”
However, it now seems that a U-turn has been performed and Small WILL be part of his county’s plans for this season.
The Irish Times state that the Ballymun Kickhams veteran has linked up with Farrell’s panel while away on a pre-Championship training trip in Portugal.
Small making himself available for selection once again would be an added boost for The Dubs given how much leadership and experience has walked out the door since the end of last season.
Brian Fenton, James McCarthy, Jack McCaffrey, Paul Mannion and Michael Fitzsimons have all stepped away from inter-county football over the past few months.
Interestingly, the GAA this week announced a major break from 30 years of tradition around the latter stages of the Leinster Championship which Dublin figure to feature in.
Leinster GAA chief Derek Kent confirmed that the semi-finals will be played away from Croke Park for the first time in 30 years.
Poor crowds sparked the decision after just 21,000 fans turned up for the semis as a double-header last year.
Ticket prices for the games have been cut to €15 and Kent hopes the switch breathes life into a competition that Dublin have won 14 times on the spin.
He said: “The logic behind it was that we were playing games in Croke Park with half or quarter of an empty stadium. The atmosphere wasn’t there.
“Dublin will travel anywhere. They’re a county that has no issue travelling anywhere.
“It’s not about levelling the playing field. It’s about giving the support better value and an atmosphere that will suit semi-finals.
“A provincial ground will get some rebate back on what they’ve spent.
“At the end of the day, we can go out to provincial grounds which are all up to standard.
“The point I’m making is that going out there is a win-win for everybody. It’s a win-win for supporters and it’s a win-win for the county boards.”
