JOHNNY BUCKLEY WITNESSED first hand the scoring damage that the right boot of the recently retired Bryan Sheehan could cause.
From years together in the Kerry setup to the local battles that pitched Dr Crokes against South Kerry, Buckley had a front-row view for some of Sheehan’s best exploits.
Last month’s Kerry senior final was the latest clash between Buckley’s club and Sheehan’s division.
Amidst the scraps for possession around midfield, Buckley was always conscious of the havoc Sheehan could wreak.
In 2010 Dr Crokes, finalists in the AIB Munster senior club championship next Sunday, brought their losing streak against South Kerry to a halt.
But victory only arrived after a game that featured a late South Kerry rally and a pair of stunning long-range kicks from the five-time Kerry All-Ireland senior winner.
“The clips have been surfacing, it was funny watching them, if he’d another free it’d have been 100 yards out!” laughs Buckley.
“The two come to mind from that game, he was 60 yards out when he kicked over two monster frees.
“I suppose I was lucky enough to see him in training as well. He has kicks in his locker that I don’t think anyone else has to be honest with both distance and accuracy. That side of stuff will be missed.
“It’s a huge thing to put your name in the hat and go again for another year. I suppose he’s in a situation where he’s played a huge amount of football over the years between county and club.
“He’s definitely been the best county championship player over the past decade. I’m sure he’ll continue to do so for another few years. Disappointed to see him go, he’s a great man to have around the place, has been an outstanding servant.
“He can be very proud of what he’s achieved. We all know his free-taking abilities but just in general play, he’s a great career behind him.”
Dr Crokes had a two-point cushion to fall back on at the close of this year’s Kerry decider, success propelling them towards another Munster campaign.
After taking care of Tipperary’s Clonmel Commercials and Clare’s Kilmurry-Ibrickane, it is a traditional provincial power that awaits next Sunday. For the reigning All-Ireland champions, it’s a challenge to relish.
“When you think of Munster football, Nemo are one of the teams that come to your mind straight away,” says Buckley.
“So it’s a big one, we’re looking forward to it. They look seriously impressive, they have the bit of experience and youth around the field. They’ll be a massive tough test.
“There’s definitely a bit of pressure off (us this year). One aspect of pressure is we’ve our own internal pressure but the over-riding pressure was of having got to all them (All-Ireland) semi-finals and never having got over the line. There’s an element of that gone.
“What’s great to see is the hunger that’s there this year. There was never a satisfaction that the box was ticked and we were happy out now.
“It was straight back to business. We’re lucky that we’ve the same team, not too many retirees, and we’ve a continuation of the management team. There’s a huge hunger to get back having tasted it once.”
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