The midfielder, 34 next month, started all but two of Dublin’s 14 matches this season after a 2014 campaign where he was reduced to a substitute’s appearance against Meath in the Leinster final because of shoulder surgery followed by medial ligament problems and a hamstring issue.

His body screamed for him to step aside but Jim Gavin insisted on him putting in the work for at least one more year.

“When the body is hurting and it’s not doing what you’re trying to make it do, obviously there are questions in your mind,” recalled Bastick. “But that’s when you have to dig deep and focus hard.

“We have a great medical team, a great backroom staff. They’ll get you right to get back in the frame again.”

Maybe it was that 2013 season when Bastick was just as vital in creating goals as he was in making last-gasp goal-line blocks but Gavin encouraged him to stick with it.

“He did and it was up to me to get the body right fitness wise and get back in shape to be in contention. We had a frank discussion. It was really just about commitments levels and if I was sticking on, to try and do whatever I can for the team. It just worked out. I’ve been able to play.”

Sunday’s emphatic win over Cork was Dublin’s fifth victory on the bounce as they recovered from some early difficulties in Cork, Killarney and then being held by Tyrone in Croke Park.

Bastick felt things would settle down for the team once everyone’s focus was re-tuned to the league.

Of the final, he said: “We put in a good performance there and we were deserved winners on the day. But early on, we were just trying to get our game plan right, get our positions right and get all that work done.

“We just came together over the last few games. The start of the league, with the Sigerson and U21, there are a lot of distractions and I suppose when we settled down, we got some good performances and we pushed on.”