No Payne no gain

Captain John Payne, the an unsung hero of the past decade of Crokes dominance, is finally getting his due

18-minute period either side of the half time interval without a score. And until White’s goal in the 57th minute Gavin Curran in the Dingle goal had little more to do than make a couple of routine stops. But when Crokes were hot they were hot.

Paul Geaney’s early free put

THE GAME IN 60 SECONDS

MAIN MAN

A short-list of three from the winners with Gavin White excellent at the fulcrum of the defence, and scoring the gamewinning goal; Daithi Casey taking the game by the scruff of the next at a time when Crokes needed leadership and a bit of dog in the game; and 20-year old David Shaw who kicked four fabulous points in his first county final. For his contribution at both ends of the field WHITE gets the garland

KEY MOMENT

White’s 57th minute goal was clearly the key score that swung this contest the way of the champions but one wonders what might have happened had Shane Murphy not batted away Paul Geaney’s well struck shot and Dingle had got the goal in the 33rd minute? It would only have put Dingle a point up, with plenty of time left in the game, but it would have been a huge score for Dingle and would surely have cranked up the ante all round.

TALKING POINT

After the heated exchanges and mass brawls between players - and in some cases mentors

- in Austin Stack Park over the previous couple of Sundays, this final passed without any major incident of that nature. Yes, there were a couple of moments of unnecessary nonsense on the field with players wrestling each other, but thankfully everyone found it in themselves to behave in the right way.

WHAT NEXT?

Dr Crokes have little time to revel in a third county title in a row as they head to south Tipperary next Sunday to play Tipp champions Moyle Rovers in the Munster Club SFC quarter-final.

Dingle into an early lead and they led 0-2 to 0-1 after five minutes, but then Dr Crokes did what Crokes do so well and reeled off the next seven points without reply. It catapulted them into a 0-8 to 0-2 lead by the 21st minute and, briefly, it seemed as if this would be another procession for Crokes.

Kerry defender Tom O’Sullivan, who along with Paul Geaney has been Dingle’s most effective player in this competition, raided forward to kick a point and kick-start Dingle’s best spell when three more points followed in the last five minutes to bring them back into contention at 0-8 to 0-6 at half time.

Paul Geaney drew that fine save from Murphy early in the second half and then Matthew Flaherty’s point cut the margin to one, but Crokes never really looked rattled. Cooper made his entrance, clearly to bring even more composure to Crokes game, and points from Shaw, White, Johnny Buckley and Dáithí Casey had them 0-13 to 0-9 ahead after 48 minutes. They were still ahead, 0-14 to 0-11, after 51 minutes when Dingle had corner back Pádraig O’Connor sent off for a second yellow.

Few teams thrive better with an extra man than Dr Crokes, and with Dingle stretched in their search for that now crucial goal, it was inevitable that Crokes would capitalise.

And so they did. Moments later Dr Crokes broke down-field and White and O’Leary combined for the former to slap the ball to an empty Dingle goal and put this final to bed.

A record setting seventh title in a decade that also shoots the Killarney club to the top of the roll of honour - out on their own now with 13 titles.

And the sense that this newish looking Crokes team is only getting started.

DR CROKES: Shane Murphy, John Payne, Michael Moloney, Fionn Fitzgerald, David O’Leary, Gavin White 1-1, Shane Doolan, Johnny Buckley 0-1, Dáithí Casey 0-4 (3f), Micheál Burns, Gavin O’Shea 0-1, Brian Looney 0-1, David Shaw 0-4, Kieran O’Leary, Tony Brosnan 0-2 Subs: Colm Cooper for G O’Shea (38), Alan O’Sullivan for D O’Leary (45), Jordan Kiely 0-1 for T Brosnan (50), Michael Potts for D Shaw (55), Eoin Brosnan for M Burns (62), Paul Clarke for K O’Leary (63)

DINGLE: Gavin Curran, Michael Flannery, Tom Leo O’Sullivan, Padraig O’Connor, Michael Begley, Tom O’Sullivan 0-2, Aidan O’Connor, Billy O’Connor, Barry O’Sullivan 0-1, Brian O’Connor, Michael Geaney 0-1, Paul Devane, Tomas Sheehy 0-1, Paul Geaney 0-6 (5f), Matthew Flaherty 0-1 Subs: Eoin Murphy for P Devane (42), Brendan Kelliher for M Flannery (57), Conor Geaney for T Sheehy (63)

REFEREE: Seamus Mulvihill (St Senans)

IT’S the sort of question that almost answers itself in the asking. Is John Payne underrated? Well, if you have to ask then, yes, he probably is or has been at the very least.

There’s no harm in asking the question though if it helps shine a spotlight and gives recognition where it’s due. Over the past couple of seasons the question has been posed more and more, so much so that people have wondered whether he should have had a senior inter-county career by now.

The time is probably past for that – Payne is thirty one years of age – but you can see why people are thinking that way. He’s been one of the top defenders in the county championship for the best part of a decade.

Expanding on that theme even further – has there been a more consistent presence on the Kerry club scene this last decade or so than the Dr Crokes number two?

You could make a case for Bryan Sheehan – probably the greatest club player of the last decade – but Sheehan wouldn’t have half the football played at club level as Payne has done.

That’s no knock on Sheehan (a brilliant club and district man), it’s simply the way of things when you’re an inter-county footballer. When Sheehan was away with the Kerry senior footballers, Payne was on the case in the County League with the Crokes, rarely dropping the ball, driving standards.

The Colm Coopers and Eoin Brosnans and the like have been absolutely central to the Crokes project in the last fifteen years, but it’s guys like Payne who have provided the building blocks of success.

When Payne first came on the scene Dr Crokes were nowhere near the top of the roll of honour. To overhaul the lead Austin Stacks held at the time looked the work of a generation or two at the least.

What’s been achieved since then is nothing short of remarkable. The Crokes are now the leading club in the Kingdom with thirteen county titles, having won seven of the last nine years with this year’s captain there every step of the way.

“I think when I started we’d five county finals won, the whole club and lost three,” Payne explains.

“In 2010 then when we got the first one and to think if you’d asked me after losing my third one – and I’d played in them all – that you’d be here with the record in Kerry I don’t know what to say... I’d have bitten your hand off.

“It’s a lot of hard work. There’s ten or twelve fellas involved