LAST UPDATE | 24 Jun 2021
CAN KERRY MOUNT a serious challenge this summer and be the team to end Dublin’s dominance in the All-Ireland football championship?
The question was one of many discussed on this week’s episode of The42 GAA Weekly, and Kerry legend Marc Ó Sé said one of the most promising things about the Kingdom this year is the wealth of options seemingly available to manager Peter Keane.
However, while Kerry seem to have strong competition in a number of areas across the team, Ó Sé also backed an old warrior to play a key role ahead of their Munster championship quarter-final meeting with Clare on Saturday.
“The last (league) game against Tyrone, because you didn’t have the services of Paul Murphy or Tadhg Morley, you had Brian Ó Beaglaoich in one corner and Tom O’Sullivan, who was a small bit rusty but did very well in the other corner, and Jason Foley fullback,” Ó Sé said.
“All of a sudden now you have options. You have Tadhg Morley and Paul Murphy to come in, Mike Breen ticked all the boxes against Tyrone, got up the field, kicked scores, his tackle count was huge.
“In the middle of the field, David Moran, Andrew Barry, Adrian Spillane, Diarmuid O’Connor, four doesn’t go into two but I think now you have options.
“The big thing for Peter Keane this year is it’s going to have to be horses for courses.
“For example, David Moran didn’t start the last day. Any person thinking logically might say ‘let’s go with the same midfield’, but I think horses for courses, Clare are an experienced side in the middle of the field, Cathal O’Connor and these guys, strong men.
“I think David Moran has to start the next day. I think he’s going to have a huge part to play, that experience, that strength out around the middle.
“All the talk down here (in Kerry) is who is going to start, who is not going to start… I think we now have options we possibly didn’t have in the last few years, which is great from a Kerry point of view.”
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