D Tuesday, January 19, 2010 SPORT 21 AlAn BrogAn believes the pun- ishing sunrise training sessions that Dublin are putting in now will pay off this summer. Hardline boss Pat gilroy has been convening his players for training be- fore and after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays this month. It is an attempt to increase fitness, but more so to invest the team with a psychological toughness that has been missing in previous seasons. gilroy has made it clear that he wants every player at training too because nobody is guaranteed a place in the team. Back-to-backAll- Star Brogan (pic- tured), for instance, has been getting up at 5am for train- ing, often just hours after feeding his 13-month-old baby Jamie. He is also nursing a cast on his hand after recent surgery and will not be available for full action until March. Were training early in the morning and late at night and guys have to be willing to do that, said Brogan. Thats probably what Pat is trying to find out; who are the guys willing to go that extra bit for the cause? I think by training like that youll find out whos able for that tough, psychological thing and who isnt. A new-look Dublin side beat Wex- ford handily in Sundays oByrne Winter grind will yield big dividends, says Brogan Cup opener and it is likely that gilroy will go with another experimental line-up for this Sundays quarter-final against Meath. Before then he will run the rule over emerging talent in a friendly on Thursday night to mark the 50th an- niversary of St Declans College in Cabra. Brogan admits it is slightly worry- ing that not even players who have won five leinster titles in a row are sure of their place now. It mightnt be the nicest feeling for guys on the panel for a number of years and have to prove themselves again, said Brogan. Smiles better: Roddick Keaney return never in doubt Pat Gilroy says he is bemused by the speculation that star forward Conal Keaney was on the verge of quitting football for hurling. Keaney is known to have been considering a return to hurling as recently as last week. But in a boost to boss Gilroy the Ballyboden man contacted him late last week and confirmed he is going nowhere, ending the will he, wont he saga. Gilroy said: there was a lot of speculation but Conal was at every single training session weve had since Christmas, so though there was speculation he was always there for us and nothing has changed. By Paul Keane GAA FoRmeR champion maria Sharapova became the first big- name casualty in melbourne as she suffered a shock 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4 defeat by fellow Russian maria Kirilenko. Sharapova, who won the 2008 title on her last appearance in the Rod Laver Arena, made 66 unforced errors and struggled with her serve on big points. I certainly had my chances, I just didnt execute, the 14th-seed said after being dumped out of the years first grand slam in three hours and 22 minutes. She was up and then Id get back in the game. I just didnt take advantage of that [and I] let her control the situation again. Sharapova, who was unable to defend her title last year because of a shoulder injury, added: Its a bad day and you have to get on with your life. There are many worse situations in life. Kirilenko, a five- time winner on the tour, said: I think its one of the best wins for me. meanwhile, fifth seed elena Dementieva will come up against former world No.1 Justine Henin in round two after beating Vera Dushevina. Henin, who returned to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International after an 18-month retirement, beat fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-3. Russian Dementieva said: Its going to be a tough challenge because Justine, shes a very experienced player. Kirilenko solves the problem of Maria Picture: Action Images Down and out: Sharapova fell at the first hurdle in melbourne TENNIS Official clash riles Roddick AnDy roDDICk made a winning start to his Australian open campaign despite a collision with a courtside official. roddick managed to maintain the form that saw him win the Brisbane International last week with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker. roddick, who has just returned to action following a knee injury, said: I ran into one of those immovable objects called a referee [line judge]. normally they see a player running full speed, they move or catch the player. Fearing a recurrence of his knee problem, the American added: I promise you that first step afterwards was a relief. u CzeCH radek Stepanek, the 13th seed, became the first notable casualty in the mens draw, losing 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to big-serving Croatian Ivo karlovic. There were straight sets wins, however, for world no.2 rafael nadal and fifth seed Andy Murray. ITS not often manchester United are odds against to win at old Trafford. And even after the 3-0 win at home to Burnley on Saturday, there may not be much of a queue to back them in tonights Carling Cup semi-final, first leg against manchester City. But United are slowly regaining the form which appeared to be deserting them while City must show character to bounce back after their first defeat since Roberto mancini took over at eastlands. Back United to win at 19/10 with Boylesports and snap up Wayne Rooney at 2/1 with Betfair to score at any time. early birds must log on to their accounts and get Boylesports 8/13 on Richard Gasquet to beat mikhail Youzhny in the Australian open. The action starts around 8am so theres no time to waste. THE TIPSTER RUGBY Facing a monumental task: Hodgson Leinster a formidable challenge, say Exiles lonDon Irish scrum-half Paul Hodgson admits his side face a monumental task if they are to beat leinster this Saturday and reach the tournament knockout stages for only a second time. The teams meet at Twickenham with the defending champions in pole position to top Pool 6 after the exiles threw away a 12-point lead at llanelli on Sunday. The guinness Premiership outfit must now score a bonus-point win over leinster and deny the visitors a losing bonus. Its a massive challenge for us, said Hodgson. leinster are flying at the moment and they are a formidable side. They will be coming for the win and we are in no doubt as to how tough it will be. It will be one of the toughest games this team has faced, a truly monumental task. london Irish did win 12-9 in Dublin in round 1 but Hodgson believes victory will be even harder to come by this time as leinster seek a home quarter-final. leinster probably played a little bit below par when we played them over there, he said. We will just be looking for a performance that will give us a chance to win. Saints confident of Munster double NorthamPtoN director of rugby Jim mallinder claims his sides 31-27 win over munster at Franklins Gardens in october has given them the confidence to repeat the trick at thomond Park this Saturday. Both sides earned bonus-point victories at the weekend to set up the winner-take-all clash at munsters limerick fortress. mallinder said: the win over munster in round 1 was huge and good for our belief. We showed we can compete and, although we only won narrowly, we showed we are close and we have it all to play for. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html