PULLING and dragging. Fouling off the ball. Blocking opponents off. Deliberately breaking the rules. Bringing forwards back to crowd around midfield.
Doing whatever it took to make a breakthrough for their county.
Armagh 2002? Tyrone 2003? Meath (any year)? Whisper it…Kerry?
No, Down 1960. (And all of the above)
The first side to bring 'Sam Maguire' across the border are quite rightly lauded as one of the finest football teams ever – yet for all the eye-catching red flair as their celebrated forwards roasted opposition backs, there was a certain black aspect to the Mournemen as well.
That's not an opinion from the wishy-washy perspective of 60 years later, viewed through the distorting prism of a far less physical modern game. Nor the biased viewpoint of an outsider.
The fuller picture of the Down team is offered by one of their own, left half-back Kevin O'Neill, in the highly enjoyable story of the life of his colleague Paddy Doherty, 'The Making of Paddy Mo', published this week by Hero Books.
While it's somewhat surprising that Down were up to tricks in their quest to win the All-Ireland, it's not a shock at all that there was a Meathman involved.
O'Neill recalls that, after drawing with Offaly in the 1960 semi-final, Down felt they needed more to get into their first ever All-Ireland Final.
"In that match against Offaly our boys were fouled and dragged all over the place, and we never got frees. And it seemed if we even touched an Offaly forward they got a free.
"We, the players, felt we needed to get somebody into our camp who had experience of winning All-Irelands."
Cue the involvement of 'The Man in the Cap', Peter McDermott, who had not only won 'Sam' as the Royals' captain in 1954 – after losing in the 1951 and 1952 deciders – but also refereed the 1953 Final, when Kerry had defeated Armagh.
Newry Mitchel's clubman O'Neill remembered well McDermott's words, the valuable advice of a 'gamekeeper turned poacher'.
Back then umpires were even more reluctant to point out off-the-ball misdemeanours than their modern counterparts are, so players had to be canny.
"Peter McDermott was an instant success… he pointed out where they were going wrong…."
McDermott "felt Down should concentrate on continuous movement and swift interchanging of positions in attack. He urged mobility to be the keynote with no player rigidly tied to his position."
That led to the likes of centre half-forward James McCartan and inside-forward Tony Hadden dropping back to battle for possession in deeper areas, something that flummoxed the more traditional Kerry approach in the final.
Yet they had to get past Leinster champs Offaly first, and to do that McDermott told the Mournemen to stop being naïve, as O'Neill explains:
"He also thought that we were not nearly streetwise enough.
"And with his experience as a referee, he taught us when to foul and when not to foul…when we could get away with a sly tug of a jersey or a bit of obstruction. In other words, be like their big-name rivals, and become 'cute hoors'."
Those last two words are most closely associated with Kerry, the reigning champions from 1959, their 19th senior All-Ireland, but the wider issue was that Cavan was the only county from Ulster to have ever lifted 'Sam'.
Back in the Fifties, Ulster champions – the Breffnimen excepted - tended to go down to headquarters, enjoy their big day(s) out (often only in a semi-final), and meekly accept the decisions that went against them.
There was a twist to the modern perception of northern football, O'Neill recalled: "The difference of playing in Croke Park was night and day. In Ulster if you touched anybody it was a foul. In Croke Park it was different."
McDermott didn't teach 'defence against the dark arts' but rather set out a telling truth: What the eyes can't see the whistle can't sound against.
O'Neill revealed to Tony Bagnall, author of the Paddy Doherty book, that McDermott told defenders: "When the other team are attacking and the ball is on the opposite side of the field, you turn and catch your forward… and don't let him pass you. Don't under any circumstances let your man get free.
"The referee will be watching the ball."
Full-backs received this advice: "When the ball is coming in grab your man…but keep watching the referee. If he's looking at you, drop your hands… if the referee is watching, don't foul…but anywhere else hold your man and don't let a forward loose."
As O'Neill admits: "We followed Peter's advice, did it and got away with it.
"Peter also said that when the ball looks like coming in your direction get up close against your man and give him a shove in the back.
[McDermott pointed out] 'Kerry do it…Offaly do it. They all do it. You boys will have to start doing it. It's obviously against the rules, but if you obey the rules you won't win in Croke Park.'
So Down broke the rules – as did their opponents.
As did teams before them and teams after them.
There's greater scrutiny in the modern game, more cameras watching, not only in a professional capacity but also from the stands and the sidelines.
Yet McDermott's words of wisdom remain true.
Sport isn't about playing within the rules, rather it's about how far you can bend and even break them without suffering too much punishment from the match officials.
Go as far as you can – and that may take you over the winning line first.
