Clifford in contention
Saturday, March 16 Austin Stack Park, 7pm
KERRY’S game with Mayo this Saturday against Mayo in Austin Stack Park (throw-in 7pm) could see James O’Donoghue and David Clifford return to the match day panel for the first time this season.
O’Donoghue had been named in the starting fifteen for the opening round against Tyrone in Fitzgerald Stadium, but picked up a knock before that game, which has kept him out since, while Clifford has been out following a procedure to facilitate recovery to a shoulder injury.
Neither man is expected to start, but the fact that they’re both edging closer to match fitness is a boost to the new regime. The return to match-fitness of Adrian Spillane is another positive ahead of this weekend.
On the flip side of that it’s understood that neither Paul Geaney nor David Moran will be available for this weekend’s fixture with James Horan’s Mayo – both men are carrying knocks.
“Comings and goings are the best description you could use for it [the make up of the squad] with some fellows getting knocks and then some fellows coming back,” Peter Keane said on Monday evening.
“It’s quite difficult in many respects game after game, even tonight as I am talking to you we haven’t got back as yet since the (county) league at the weekend, to see where some players are at, whether they have picked up knocks.
“It’s quite difficult generally with only one training session throughout the week to see where fellows are at with injuries.”
Keane, meanwhile, has admitted to being satisfied with the new offensive mark.
“Of the rules that they were discussing there were five rules that were being implemented, it was probably one that I would have looked at the start and thought it had the most potential for success,” he commented.
“I suppose I am only looking at our own games. Tommy [Walsh] has done well with it. I am not sure, I suppose look, the GAA will sit down at the end of the league and analyse that one and see what way it has worked, because there’s other teams and they are getting no success out of it.”
The Kerry boss, meanwhile, declined to speculate on whether or not any Dr Crokes players will be available to him for the final round of the National Football League against Roscommon on Sunday week.
“We haven’t started thinking about Roscommon,” he said. “I know [Crokes] are on next Sunday, we are on Saturday night. I suppose, look, normally what you would find is that a team like that might take a few days rest and take a few days out, so we will deal with that one next week.”
PROBABLY when the sold-out signs first went up in the Boherbue box-office there was an expectation that Mayo would come with tails up, the scene set for a top of the table clash of two great rivals.
It’s still a top of the table clash – albeit that Kerry are two wins clear of the green and red – but the visitors to the John Joe Sheehy Road have long since had their wings clipped, firstly by Dublin in Croke Park and then, a week and-a-half ago, by Galway in Castlebar.
Mayo’s momentum was cut dead by those twin defeats. More significantly a lot of the old worries about Mayo resurfaced in those games. True enough Mayo have rarely put it up to Dublin in the league in the same way they have in championship, nevertheless they were disappointingly anaemic at Headquarters.
Then, when a response was called for on their home turf against the old enemy, the malaise continued, especially up front. Their rate of return on chances created was less than 50% at 44%.
Unsurprisingly that didn’t cut it against Galway and it certainly won’t cut it against a Kerry side who are averaging well above 50% percent over the course of the campaign to date and had a 63% return against Monaghan last time out in pretty terrible conditions.
Most disappointingly for the Mayo faithful the young guns who made such an impact in the earlier rounds dropped off in those two games. Brian Reape, whose goal helped Mayo to a win over Roscommon in the first round, failed to score in either of the last two rounds.
There were a few bright spots in the game in Croke Park. Before he went off injured Ciarán Treacy looked more than game on the half-forward line. Fionn McDonagh was excellent throughout on a difficult night for his team, a good sign of a player.
Probably the most encouraging development for James Horan over the opening five rounds of the league has been the emergence of Matthew Ruane as a serious prospect for a midfield berth.
Following injuries to Seamus O’Shea (who’s injured again for this weekend) and Tom Parsons – that horror dislocated knee and ligament damage suffered in MacHale Park against Galway in last year’s Connacht quarter-final still keeps him out – they were quite short at midfield last season.
Ruane’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time and he’s been pretty damned impressive even in those games when the team as a whole has struggled – he kicked a point against Galway and kicked a point in Croker.
All that said there’s still a fairly familiar look to this Mayo team. They’re still relying to a very large extent on Andy Moran, Diarmuid O’Connor, Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle, Lee Keegan, Aidan O’Shea etc.
One of the more interesting things to happen Mayo this year has been the re-emergence of Rob Hennelly as a serious option for the number 1 shirt. His performance against Dublin was nothing short of sensational.
David Clarke returned to the starting fifteen for the Galway match, but there’s a very strong chance Hennelly will be handed the starting jersey again this weekend in Austin Stack Park.
Chopping and changing between keepers is something Kerry boss Peter Keane has resisted so far in this league campaign, giving Shane Ryan a start in all five games. He’s giving the Rathmore man every chance of making his mark this campaign, but it must be frustrating for Brian Kelly.
Saturday evening could see the Legion man get his first start of the campaign – five games is a good solid run of games for Ryan to have under his belt. Of course for Ryan it would be better to get another start, but squad management might dictate that Kelly gets a start.
The situation with Ryan has been replicated throughout the team, Keane has been fairly consistent in his selections. True enough players have dropped out – Jonathan Lyne hasn’t started for a few rounds – and players have been given chances to start – Gavin O’Brien – but the core of the team has remained in place.
We see no real reason to think that this will change for the weekend. That’s not to say there won’t be changes, merely that they’re likely – although far from certain – to be relatively limited.
Jason Foley might be granted a first start of the campaign and that’s more likely to be at corner than full-back. Graham O’Sullivan is another who’s in the frame for a first start of the competition after a solid cameo against Monaghan.
Midfield, given the injury profile of the panel at the moment, looks light again – will Mark Griffin retain his place alongside Jack Barry? Probably he will and the Ballyfoilmore man is deserving of another go there too.
Up front all eyes will be on a possible return for David Clifford and or James O’Donoghue after their recovery from injury, but Keane is surely going to ease those two back into the fold and not go for a big bang approach.
One guy who the Kerry public would really be excited to see start a match is An Ghaeltacht’s Tomás Ó Sé. He’s been really exciting and explosive in this cameos to date and feels like the type of player who would flourish in the red hot atmosphere of a full house fixture in Austin Stack Park.
Right now it’s hard to see this team beaten. The way they’re playing, the spirit they have, the determination of all the individual parts to maintain their positions, all come together to make for a formidable force.
That said they have to lose sooner rather than later... don’t they? Nobody expected a start this good – including the management team – and a defeat could well come this weekend against a Mayo side with a point to prove after a tough run of games.