Dublin sharpshooter Dean Rock has admitted that retiring from inter-county football isn't a foregone conclusion.
The Ballymun Kickhams forward won his 8th All-Ireland title after beating Kerry in last month's final and will be 34 by the time the next All-Ireland Football Championship ends.
A number of Dublin stars are also in the 'will he go, will he stay' basket for the upcoming campaign. This includes the likes of Michael Fitzsimons, James McCarthy, and Rock himself.
After the win over Kerry, Rock said, "That probably could be my last act playing for Dublin, so it’s certainly a nice way to go out.” However, it appears that Rock isn't thinking about hanging up his boots.
The Dublin star is currently preoccupied with Ballymun Kickhams' crucial Dublin SFC clash with Templeogue Synge Street on Saturday. Rock was asked about staying with the All-Ireland champions and said at a Budweiser Combine event, "After the game, they're the sort of conversations that pop up around retirement and 'Will I go again?' and stuff like that,"
"But as it settles down a little bit, my own plans are pretty much just to go back to the club and see what happens over the next couple of weeks, try to obviously win this Saturday, and try to keep the club championship run going for ourselves personally.
This is special… When the rest of the #Dublin squad had left the field, 3 of their veteran stars strolled to the centre of the pitch for a quiet moment. Michael Fitzsimons, James McCarthy & Dean Rock. Legends. 💙💙💙 #AllIrelandFinal #DUBvKER pic.twitter.com/C2XhmLLtD5
— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) July 30, 2023
"Then just weigh things up as the year goes on, have conversations with those you trust most, from a player and management perspective, and then just make a decision on it.
Despite being past the age of thirty, Rock also believes he has the physical capabilities to complete another season with Dublin. His only issue would be the mental aspect of it that would hinder a return.
"Yeah, look, we're obviously on the other side of 30 now, a lot of us. This year, as I said, took a lot out of a lot of players because you put so much time and effort into it, but it's certainly something that, physically, I think I can do again and go to the well again," he added.
"It's just the mental side of it and then your family life and everything else. But we won't make any decisions yet. It's a quick season nowadays, it's only six months or thereabouts really. It probably does give you an opportunity to maybe play a little bit longer, but we'll see."
See More: Dean Rock, Dublin, GAA
