GAA INTERVIEW: BRYAN CULLEN: IAN O'RIORDANtalks to the Dublin stalwart as he prepares for Sunday's National League final against Cork at Croke Park

SUCH IS the intensity of Dublin football this season that players aren’t just surrendering to exhaustion, but willingly being substituted too. Bryan Cullen has no problem admitting this, saying it merely reflects the new-found determination within the team to empty every last ounce of effort.

“Sure, I’ve put the hand up, said ‘get me out of here, get fresh legs on’, and that’s a sign of how the team has grown, become a little more mature over the last year,” says Cullen – who has started in three of Dublin’s seven league games this season, and come on as substitute in the other four.

“And especially in the half-forward line, because the role is very demanding. It’s very difficult to do it for 70 minutes. It’s the nature of how the game has gone. If you can deliver a good 45-60 minutes and then bring on the fresh legs for the last 10-15 minutes, and it’s been working well for us.

“Previously playing for Dublin lads might have been a little bit embarrassed to be taken off, but lads know that’s not the case now. Invariably, when we take players off, it’s because they’ve emptied the tank for the cause.

“Like against Down, I got the message to the line. I did a lot of running that day, chased everything that day and was exhausted after 40 minutes. You know yourself. It would be very easy to hide for 10 minutes and try and collect yourself, but 10 minutes is a long time in a game to be trying to keep away from the ball. There’s no point in you trying to keep yourself out of the action when there are fresh legs on the bench, gunning for that opportunity to come on.”

Cullen is fairly certain of starting Sunday’s league final against Cork, again in the half-forward line: at 27 he’s one of the more experienced players on the team, although has recently earned the nickname “Benjamin Button” amongst his Dublin team mates, for apparently mirroring F Scott Fitzgerald’s imaginative fable of ageing in reverse.

“Well, maybe the lads reckon I’m getting younger rather than older,” says Cullen. “I’ve always been referred to as an old head on young shoulders, and I suppose particularly with the last year lads felt I got a new lease of life, so that’s where that originated from.”

Converting from the half backs to the half forwards has helped contribute to his rejuvenation, although he admits it hasn’t been easy: “It’s a very demanding position, and you certainly need to have a good engine to do it. You have to realise that a majority of your work will be done off the ball as well, and that you are contributing a huge amount even if you’re not racking up big scores or on the ball every couple of minutes.

“It wouldn’t be the most surprising thing if there are injuries elsewhere and I have to readapt for the back line. But my role has been in the half-forward line and that’s where I see I’ll be competing for a spot come the championship.”

So to Sunday’s showdown with Cork, which Cullen insists Dublin are confident of winning, like they have been for every league game this season, but that it won’t be the wrong side of paradise if they don’t, to paraphrase some more Fitzgerald.

“In previous years we’d look at our fixtures and we’d be looking at a couple of home games and confident of winning them and then you’d be maybe hopeful of nicking a win away from home. Every game this year we are going in to we are expecting to win, there is great confidence there – we do have the self-belief that no matter where we go we’re capable of performing.

“So I’m not going to say we don’t want to win on Sunday. Of course ourselves and Cork want to go out and collect the cup. But at the same time it is not the biggest game we are going to play this year. We know that, Cork know that. Even if it doesn’t go our way the important thing is we learn a bit about ourselves, maybe learn a little bit more about Cork. See what works well against them, what doesn’t work well against them, so if we do meet them in the championship we’ll be in a better position to avenge last year’s defeat.”