Rebels out to make amends for Dubs collapse - Cahill

The only certainty is that, barring a massacre by Dublin at Pairc Ui Rinn tomorrow in the opening round of the Allianz Football League, a definitive verdict about the Rebels will not be delivered for weeks, if not months.

We can expect a seriously competitive contest between the Dubs and Cork tomorrow, with the onus on Brian Cuthbert's side to prove to themselves they have buried the memories of a 2014 campaign that started well and ended tamely.

If Cork can win, draw, or lose narrowly, that buys them time to get a solid footing on the Division 1 journey.

In that context, Dublin loom large in the reckoning, as they showed the Rebels last year that an early season victory can prove meaningless when the knock-out stages of league and championship are played out.

Former Dublin All Star Barry Cahill was not alone in believing Cork flattered only to deceive in Cuthbert's first year of management, with the scar tissue of the league semi-final defeat apparently not healed by the time summer football arrived.

Mind you, a 17-point turnaround to lose by 10 points can do that to a team.

CONTENDERS

"I was at the Dublin-Cork league game that took place in round three of the league last year and I was very impressed with Cork," said Cahill.

"They had a lot of new players on board, following on from five or six retirements the previous winter. They had a really good win and Colm O'Neill came on and kicked two very good points near the end, so that was a great performance from their perspective .

"They were so good that I really fancied them to compete with Dublin and be contenders for the All-Ireland later in the year.

"Then in the league semi-final, the first 20 minutes Cork were outstanding, but Dublin just seemed to turn it around at the start of the second half.

"They got a couple of goals, they had the momentum behind them, and with key players coming in off the bench, they put in a huge performance.

"Certainly it appeared that Cork's second-half performance and the result seemed to set them back somewhat.

"And then, going into the Munster championship they never seemed to hit any sort of form, so I think that was a particularly damaging day for Cork against Dublin."

Cahill retired in 2013 and during his 11 years as a senior player, enjoyed many a joust with Cork.

For all the criticism directed at the Rebels about the paucity of All-Ireland wins relative to league performances over the last few years, they are always among the top teams. For Cahill, the competition or time of year were irrelevant when the two counties played each other.

"Our results against Cork weren't great down through the years, especially when we played them away from home.

"We had a couple of narrow losses down in Pairc Ui Rinn, and a couple of bad defeats in Pairc Ui Chaoimh but when we played them in Dublin's Spring Series games in Croke Park, we had a very good win against them in 2011 in the league.

"Cork were the All-Ireland champions at the time and had beaten us in the semi-final the previous year, so that was a good victory for us to get under our belts.

"We managed to beat Cork, Kerry and Tyrone in the League in 2011. Those three wins were a big help to us in going on to win the All-Ireland later in the year," he said.

Individually, the St Brigid's clubman never found any difficulty in getting motivated for a clash with Cork.

"Although the league would be seen as the secondary competition compared to the championship, when you're a player and you're coming up against a Cork opponent, you'd be hugely determined and motivated to put in a good performance.

"There's quite a strong chance that you could be playing against them later in the year in an All-Ireland quarter-final or semi-final, so you'd always want to lay down a marker.

"There's a high importance on the league this year, and I think a lot of managers have recognized that," said Cahill.

PERSPECTIVE

Dublin go into the game powered by five matches under their belts plus extra-time in the O'Byrne Cup final against Kildare last Sunday.

Cahill's message is: 'don't under-estimate the value of that pre-season competition'.

"I'd say from Jim Gavin's perspective he was delighted to get five games under his belt and try out a number of new players.

"He also tried out a few players in different positions. They got a couple of good tests against Laois and Meath and particularly in the Kildare match.

"To get that type of quality game at the end of January is something any manager would like to have," said Cahill.