Win the day for Kerry

But my point here is about leaders. Look at the names I mentioned above who got us out of a sticky situation. Kieran Donaghy, Aidan O’Mahony and Tommy Griffin were just a few of great characters we had in that team. I could list countless more.

I always felt that was what we had over Cork time and time again and as these two old foes come face to face again on Sunday I still feel that is where Kerry will have the advantage.

It’s an easy word to throw around when talking about team sport, but if you don’t have those three or four guys in your group who can steady the ship and all around them when things are going against you then more often than not you will be found wanting.

Now bar Donaghy a lot of those players are gone. O’Mahony, Griffin, Marc and Gooch can’t be called on or looked to any longer when the going gets tough. They can never be replaced in terms of what they brought individually to the set up but their leadership qualities can certainly be matched and the more I see this young Kerry team play the more I can see guys stepping up to the plate.

Up in Ennis last time out it wasn’t all plan sailing and some hard questions were asked. Facing into a potentially difficult second half of the game I’m sure Eamonn would have asked for the team’s leaders to step up and bring the game to Clare.

Remember two of his stalwarts; Donnchadh Walsh (sent off) and David Moran (injured) were not out there so it was time for others to take up the mantle. The new batch stepped up.

Peter Crowley, Tadhg Morley, Anthony Maher and James O’Donoghue to name a few all had a massive influence on Kerry navigating their way through some stormy waters and putting the Clare challenge to bed.

For me this is a huge factor going into Sunday. By the way don’t be fooled into thinking that this Cork team are coming to Killarney for anything other than Don’t be fooled into thinking that this Cork team are coming to Killarney for another other than a win

a win. Forget form and forget league status. This is a Kerry v Cork Munster Final in Killarney and if you need any motivating for this one you may as well hang up the boots. Cork have to come with something and I have no doubt this will be a tight affair as it was in the drawn game a couple of years ago.

It is when the game is going down the stretch though and it’s up for grabs that is where I feel Kerry have all the aces. They have the players to see them over the line whether they are already on the field or they come in off the bench. They have the leaders who can make the right decisions at the right time to win the game for their team.

Peadar Healy and his charges will be under no illusions that they will need massive improvement from their displays against Waterford and Tipperary, but as it has been said so many times a Munster final takes on a life of its own and they will fancy themselves of giving Kerry a right tough test.

I will be interested to see if Cork deploy a defensive system, which they did in that drawn game in 2015. I mentioned when Mark Collins sat very deep and caused Kerry problems by bringing the ball out time after time.

But whatever way I look at it I just feel Kerry have the edge in too many positions and in too many potential match ups. And most important of all they have the leaders to see them home.