Dublin's hopes of making a big impact in next year's National League have suffered a blow following Kilmacud Crokes' Leinster club football success. The Stillorgan club's qualification for the All-Ireland semi-final against either Corofin or Tir Chonaill Gaels on February 21 means new Dubs boss Pat Gilroy will be without four key players in Paul Griffin, Kevin Nolan, Mark Vaughan and Darren Magee for the opening Division 1 fixtures with Tyrone and Galway, while potential squad members David Nestor, Cian O'Sullivan and Mark Davoren will also be unavailable. If Crokes win their semi-final and go all the way to the All-Ireland final on St. Patrick's Day, Gilroy will not be able to call on any of his Crokes' contingent until the final two rounds of the National League. The victory could also spell trouble for new Dublin hurling manager Anthony Daly as Ross O'Carroll would also be unavailable for a number of games due to his club football commitments. Already, Daly is planning his build-up to the National League without Gary Maguire, Ronan Fallon and David Curtin, who will take time out to travel and are set to return just before the start of the league. Meanwhile, Cian O'Sullivan will miss Crokes' All-Ireland semi-final following his straight red card against Rhode for the second match in succession. The highly-rated defender, who was sent off after 17 minutes against Celbridge in the first round of the Leinster championship, was red-carded after just 14 minutes for a high tackle on Rhode midfielder Páraic Sullivan. As it was his second straight red, the mandatory four-week suspension will, at the very least, be doubled and barring a successful appeal, O'Sullivan will definitely miss the All-Ireland semi-final. However, depending on the offence for which O'Sullivan is reported, there is also the possibility he could miss a potential final should Crokes progress. "Anybody that is sent off and gets a red card... The young man will be hurting a lot," said Crokes manager Paddy Carr, who didn't rule out the possibility of an appeal. "I have to have a look at the incident again and see what happened," he added. Tweet

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