KIERAN DONAGHY PLANS to “latch onto” Tommy Walsh when he returns home from Sydney.
Donaghy, who was named September’s Player of the Month yesterday, is looking forward to feeding off Walsh’s experience after five seasons as a full-time professional with Sydney Swans.
The 2008 Young Footballer of the Year called time on his stay in Australia and will return to fight for his place in starting fifteen of the All-Ireland champions.
“Tommy’s coming back with expertise in fitness and weights and I’m going to latch onto him because he’s in unbelievable shape,” says Donaghy.
“I wasn’t in the best shape coming into this year. When I couldn’t run I felt the weights make me stronger in the core so I’m going to latch on to him for any stuff that might be useful.
“He’s my size, a big man and they’ve been training him, drilling him for the past few years. Latching on to him will be my way of trying to get back into shape for next year.”
Body permitting, Donaghy is looking forward to continuing his Kingdom career, although he admits the easy decision would be to “head off into the sunset thinking I’m after winning an All-Ireland.”
Instead, the Austin Stacks man is already looking forward to the challenges next season will bring with Colm Cooper, Walsh and Darran O’Sullivan all likely to fight for a place in Eamon Fitzmaurice’s attack in 2015.
“The body’s the number one consideration and I’ll see how it goes, how it reacts through the winter. Please God if the body sticks with me I’d love to be wrestling the head off Tommy Walsh in training.
“Last year wasn’t he full back out in Sydney? He might come back in at full back – try and keep him away from full forward!
“Having those fellas coming back will give us a great lift. They’ll be savage hungry and they’re three such inspirational players: Darran O’Sullivan, the Gooch and Tommy to be coming back in.”
His words to Joe Brolly on TV after the game will go into GAA folklore, and he believes an interview right after a game is “normally when you get the most honest stuff out of a player.”
He also declared afterwards that it was his sweetest All-Ireland with Kerry and he stands by that, because of the journey this squad have undergone together.
“It’s the sweetest one ever, considering what the team has gone through and how young fellas have developed and grown in front of our eyes.
“Everybody contributing and everybody playing a part. There’s 28 fellas togged out on the day but we’ve had 35 all year that are just hopping off each other in training, hopping off each other in trial games.
“It’s disappointing that the (matchday) panel can’t be 35 and say to every fella, ‘listen boy you’ve done 200 sessions this year, here’s your All-Ireland medal. You deserve it as much as anybody on the team.’”
“What made it was above in Limerick and Pa Kilkenny coming on and turning over Andy Moran. Jonathan Lyne coming on, he hasn’t touched the ball in championship, and bangs over a few points. You can’t buy that kind of stuff.
“They had been going so well in training, so when you’d look over and see fellas coming on, you’d say, ‘bring ‘em on. Bring ‘em on to f*ck. He’s going well all year so bring him on.’
“I’d no fear for any of them fellas coming on. I knew they were going I’d been seeing it all year, for them to turn it out on the biggest day was great and that’s why it was the sweetest I’d say.”
The ‘Kieran Donaghy Be A Star’ basketball camp takes place from October 28 to 31st in the Mitchell’s GAA clubhouse in Tralee.
