Doorey, Pat Roscommon's Pat Doorey Loughglynn's Pat Doorey back where he belongs on the edge of the Roscommon square The uncertain days for Roscommon's long-established full back, Pat Doorey, are over. Roscommon team manger Marty McDermott has included him in the team for next Sunday's Connacht Final against Mayo and two months of injury inflicted are over. Eight weeks ago he broke a bone in his left wrist. No sooner had he the cast off but he had it on again - he'd broken it a second time. Within a week of getting the all-clear, he was in trouble again, this time suffering a recurrence of an old back injury after a fall. That injury ruled him out of the Leitrim game but he is now recovered and back in the familiar number three jersey. In his absence, the Roscommon full back line looked particularly fragile against Leitrim, especially in the first half. Des Newton eventually settled into a competent display but the lack of a specialist full back could have proven more costly against a Mayo attack that boasts a confident, scoring full forward in Ray Dempsey. Marty McDermott's decision to put him on from the start would indicate that his fitness won't be a factor. In any event, he had put a lot of mileage up before the injuries struck and whatever sharpness he might lack will be compensated for by sheer heart. For like many top class defenders, what Doorey lacks in technique and skill he makes up in determination, spirit and aggression. And he is combative, occasionally ruthless, according to observers who have seen him develop over the years. But they are also quick to acknowledge his discipline as a tight marker - and where you have a tight marker you'll often have a flare-up from a resentful forward. So does he agree he's perceived as a hard man? "Not necessarily. Maybe people call be a hard man but I don't go out to intentionally hurt anyone. It's a man's game - you're out there to be hit - you're going to hit in a championship game and if I'm going to be hit, I'll take it. But I'm not going to hold back either. You can't afford to hold back. At the same time I don't regard myself as a hard man." Besides, at 29 years of age, Doorey has another precious quality to bring to his game - experience. This is his ninth championship game and the list of opponents he has grappled with on the edge of the defence reads like a who's who of full forwards in the eighties. Asked to name them it is perhaps no surprise that the first name to spring to his lips is the most famous of them all - "The Bomber" followed by "Eamonn Murphy of Monaghan, Liam McHale, Mickey Linden, Brian Stafford, Damien O'Hagan, Tony Boyle, Vinny Murphy and of course, Tony Mac in training. And I'll guarantee you he's even a handful in training!" laughs the good-humoured and affable Eire Og man. That's a lot of knowledge and experience in the bank but Pat still has his preferences for the type of full forward he likes to mark - "I'd prefer the likes of Liston rather than the likes of Mickey Linden. Linden is very hard to mark, he's very, very fast - I don't like small men!" he grins. And Doorey, like a lot of specialist full backs, tends to study the specialist full forwards in the game, tries to discover their strengths and weaknesses on video and adapt his game accordingly. An impending match usually occupies a great deal of his thoughts in the week before it, during which he'll decide how to play his man. It's an attitude that reveals the type of diligence and flexibility needed to survive against the best forwards in the country. "You have to adapt your game at certain times. Like, if he is a fast player, you always have to be beside him, hip to hip, or even a step in front of him. Whereas if he's a big, strong man you might have to stand one step behind him and break the ball away from him - different man, different game." So what's the secret of good full back play? "You have to be tight and you have to be confident of the two men either side of you. Two good corner backs make a good full back, they have to cover for you at all times. You have to go for the ball and if you miss you have someone there to cover for you. I was quite lucky over the years because I had the likes of Harry Keegan, Des Newton and Gary Wynne beside me and now we have found Eoin Gain and Damien Donlon, so I've always been surrounded by quality players." Mention of Harry Keegan and other players from the 1980 All-Ireland that Pat started his inter county career with, such as Seamus Hayden and Gerry Fitzmaurice, reminds one that he came in at the end of one era and went through the inevitable valley period that followed like so many of his colleagues. Gay Sheerin, Des and John Newton, Seamus Killoran, Tony McManus, Eamonn Junior and Paul Earley - they along with Doorey have been around a long time and form the backbone of an exceptionally mature and experienced team. He agrees it's time that all that knowledge was finally harnessed to produce the ultimate prize. "Yes. The time has arrived for this team to come of age and to go to an All-Ireland final and win it. There's a lot of guys there that have been around for a long time, they've been knocking on the door for the last three years but I feel that we can do it this year." But if Sunday brings disappointment for Pat there still many be minor consolation for the Doorey household. His brother Adrian lines out at midfield for the Roscommon minors and if he delivers on his promise, may well sustain the Doorey name on the senior team - he is already on the Eire Og first team, Eire Og being the club of their native Loughglynn. The brothers were reared on the family farm (Pat is a company rep with Canada Life) but Pat, being eleven years older, had left the house and married before Adrian got rightly into his footballing attire. But with the example of his older brother to follow, it was natural that adrian would follow suit. And his pedigree is impressive, He captained his school senior team, St. Nathy's Ballaghaderreen, in his final year and his height and strength has been an important asset for the minors this year. None of which is surprising to his older brother. "He was always kicking a ball round the back of the house. In fact, I saw him down the field the other day, making silage and he even had a ball at the silage heap," says the elder Doorey, laughing aloud at the thought. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 24th July 1992 Tweet

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