Dublin's Sean Bugler: 'We'll be ready. You could get a tough group but we'll cherish it'
WOUNDED THEY MAY be but Sean Bugler has insisted that Dublin would embrace and even 'cherish' the challenge of a group of death in the All-Ireland SFC.
Bugler was a frustrated onlooker in Portlaoise last Sunday as Dublin lost to Meath in the Leinster SFC, ending their 15-year provincial winning streak at 43 games.
The in-form forward, who was named man-of-the-match on four separate occasions in the National League, sat out the four-point defeat with an ankle injury.
Losing at the Leinster semi-final stage means Dublin will be third seeds in today's 1.30pm draw for the All-Ireland SFC group stage, along with Monaghan, Tyrone and Roscommon.
Bookies have responded to Dublin's mid-season troubles by dropping them to fifth favourites for Sam though Bugler, who expects to be fit for their next game, remains optimistic.
Speaking at an event for Dublin GAA sponsor Staycity Aparthotels, Bugler said their principal target of winning the All-Ireland this year remains.
'Yeah, definitely,' he said.
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'After losing any game, you might question your confidence but I see the talent, everyone sees the talent within the group.
'Yes, we haven't performed to our best but look, the draw is going to be made and we'll be ready. You could get a tough group but we'll cherish it.
'If you want to win the All-Ireland, which we do, you're going to have to knock the big teams off their horse as well. So we'll look forward to it and we'll really go after it.'
Dublin's Sean Bugler and Tyrone's Michael McKernan. Lorcan Doherty / INPHO Lorcan Doherty / INPHO / INPHO
The worst case scenario for Dublin is being thrown into a group alongside old rivals Kerry, holders Armagh and 2024 league winners Derry.
'Look, as I said, it's not ideal but we'll be looking forward to it,' shrugged Bugler. 'We'll be ready. We'll really prime ourselves, whoever we get, and we'll really put ourselves in a decent position to put our best foot forward on the day.
'You want to play the big teams, you want to really test yourself against the big teams. So that's what we're looking forward to doing.'
A fit again Bugler will be a big addition when Dublin get going again. The St Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh man said it should only be a temporary lay-off.
'I picked up a niggle there last week, Sunday just probably came a bit too early for me,' explained Bugler, who missed the Armagh game in the league with a separate calf injury.
'I'll be back on the pitch in the next few days.'
Bugler noted that Eoin Murchan, Sean MacMahon, Luke Breathnach, Cian Murphy and Lee Gannon missed the Meath game with injuries too.
'For us, it's just going to be about getting bodies back on the pitch, with the injuries we have, and take the learnings from the game on Sunday in terms of what we can do better, and chase after that,' he said.
'It doesn't matter who we get in the Championship – our goal hasn't changed. We still want to win the All-Ireland and in order to win the All-Ireland you have to beat the big teams. We will be ready to go in three or four weeks' time, or whatever it is, and we will look forward to it.'
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