Practice makes perfect - that's the advice from Dean Rock to any aspiring free-takers.

The Dublin star has inherited his famous father Barney's accuracy from placed balls and he played a key role in the metropolitans' Sam Maguire success this year.

All-Star recognition subsequently came his way and, speaking to The Irish Independent, the Ballymun Kickhams ace remarked: "I have always prided myself on being a free-taker.

"I've kicked frees, probably from the age of five or six. When Dad was going off training teams I'd always be just practising frees. He was playing with Garristown at the time and I would have known that he was a free-taker with Dublin.

"I wouldn't have been going kicking a ball on the run - I would always just be kicking frees, so it's kind of ingrained in me. I would have kicked frees under Jim (Gavin) for three years for U-21s, so he obviously had a lot of faith in my ability to do a job for the team.

"I'd have enough confidence in my own ability. I study my kicks all the time and video my free-kicks and learn different ways how to do it."

There is always room for improvement when it comes to free-taking, Rock added.

"I model myself on a lot of rugby guys, how they move from the collective team game into an individual (mode) when kicking frees. You're going to have to shift the focus onto yourself, and once the ball is kicked you're back into the team thing for the kick-outs.

"As a free-taker you're always developing, you're always getting better and learning new things. I feel I was a better free-taker in 2016 than I was in 2015, and I'd like to think I'll be a better free-taker in 2017 than I was in 2016."

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