All Ireland Club Football Final

Colm Cooper

Eoin Brosnan

Brian Fitzgerald

Paul Clarke

Lorcán McMonagle

David Shaw

Jordan Kiely

MIchael Potts

David Naughton

Mike Milner

Kieran Ward

Johnny O’Leary

You’d go a long way to find a forward as effective at this level as Kieran O’Leary. He’s such an intelligent player, his movement and vision are second to none and he’s a brilliant finisher too. Probably it’s no coincidence that this golden period for the club – a golden period within a golden period – has come following his retirement from the Kerry senior footballers. A driving force for Crokes. If not the greatest footballer to ever play the game, Cooper is certainly in the top five or top three even. He has so much quality, so much intelligence, such great vision, he probably doesn’t much like not starting games, but he still has a designated role in the side – as that of finisher. He comes on, uses all of the experience and intelligence he has and guides his team home in game after game. Brossy’s still got it. The veteran of the side got his chance to start during their East Kerry Championship campaign, won a twelveth O’Donoghue Cup medal and ended up on the East Kerry All Star selection. Probably won’t start Sunday – the starting fifteen seems well set barring injury – but if called upon you can be sure that the thirty-nine-year-old is capable of delivering. Wouldn’t have quite the same storied underage career of some of the up and comers in the club, but Fitzgerald is certainly one to watch. He’s a new-comer to the panel since the 2017 All Ireland win and has been making a name for himself with the IT Tralee side in the Sigerson Cup. A solid and dependable corner-back he’ll be looking to make the step up in the next couple of seasons. Clarke is the guy the Crokes turn to when they want to shake things up a bit. A massive man he can slot in at full-forward, but there’s a bit more to the son of 1992 All Ireland winner Seán than just his size, he’s a good footballer too and can be relied upon to score. Seemed to have a bigger role to play during the club’s 2016/17 campaign, but is still a good option for Pat O’Shea and co on the line. McMonagle is another one of these young players rolling off the Lewis Road production line. He didn’t quite make it with Kerry underage, but he was a star of the Sem team which claimed the Hogan Cup title in 2017. His game-time with the seniors has been limited so far, but he has seen action in the O’Donoghue Cup. Will be a few more years before we see his best. Any notions that this era of Crokes dominance in the Kingdom might some day draw to an end, the emergence of guys like David Shaw quickly disabuses you of the notion. His emergence as a starter since their last appearance in the All Ireland final shows that the production line just keeps on going in Lewis Road. A super talent with great vision, he’s been an integral part of the Crokes’ attack That Kiely – like Cooper and a number of others – can’t make the Dr Crokes’ starting fifteen tells you all you need to know about the depth in quality they have at their disposal. A product of the Crokes and Kerry underage structures he can be relied upon to come off the bench and make an impact. He’s a lethal goal-scorer off the bench – he scored a goal against Corofin two years ago in the semi-final. Potts is another one of these bright young things who seems set to nail down a place on the Crokes starting fifteen sooner rather than later – after all he’s been called up to the Kerry senior football panel before even claiming a starting place on the Crokes’ fifteen. A versatile player who can play either wing-back or wingforward, we suspect he’ll eventually land on the half-back line. Another one of these All Ireland minor winners – Naughton got his hands on a Celtic cross in 2016 – the corner-back will be hoping to make the breakthough to the Crokes starting fifteen sooner rather than later. He continued his development at underage level last year with a Munster Under 20 medal and is more than capable of doing a job off the bench if required this weekend. The Cork native was a member of the Dohenys’ club in west Cork – and a former Cork Under 21 footballer – before his move to Killarney (where he works as a guard) and the Crokes. Milner is unusual in this panel in that he has a background in hurling and even lined out for the Kerry senior hurlers on occasion – in 2016 he was on the panel. As a midfielder and half-back he offers versatility. Ward was once a starter on the Dr Crokes team – he played at number 7 when the club took on Castlebar Mitchels in the 2014 All Ireland semi-final – but has dropped down the pecking order a little since then. As we’ve been wont to say that more speaks to the increasing depth in this Crokes panel than to any suggestion that Ward has disimproved. Another great option for the management. Being a sub-goalkeeper is one of those desperately difficult things – it’s so hard to make an impression or get the chance to. O’Leary at least has been able to get regular games in the county league when Shane Murphy has been on inter-county duty, but championship action has be thin on the ground for him. Did get ten minutes in the 2018 semi-final against after Murphy was injured.

Alan O’Sullivan

Tuosist native O’Sullivan has become an integral member of the Dr Crokes panel since his move to the club six years ago. His greatest strength is probably his versatility, he covers a number of positions. Has played centre-back, midfield and played on the half-forward line (although selected at number nine) in the 2017 All Ireland club final. Will almost certainly see game-time Sunday.

Chris Brady

Brady was once a regular starter with the club – he scored a goal in the 2012 county final and 1-1 in the 2013 final as the Crokes claimed the four in-a-row with a victory over Austin Stacks – so that tells you about the quality the guy has and, also, about the quality of player coming through he ranks in Lewis Road. He’s even featured on occasion for the Division 3 side, but is still a top quality player.

Mark O’Shea

O’Shea is the son of 1992 All Ireland winner Seánie and another up and comer on this Crokes panel. He was a starter with IT Tralee during this season’s Sigerson Cup and won a Hogan Cup medal with St Brendans College in 2017. A quality cornerforward O’Shea is going to come increasingly into the reckoning for a place in the starting fifteen in the years to come.

Jason Lyne

Lyne looks set fair to become a stalwart of the Lewis Road outfit over the next decade or so. He doesn’t have the underage pedigree of a David Naughton or a Michael Potts, but his performances for Dr Crokes in the O’Donoghue Cup this year demonstrate what an effective defender this guy can be – ended that campaign with a first East Kerry All Star award. Another up and comer.

Management

Pat O’Shea is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the Kingdom if not the best and certainly the most innovative. His fingerprints are all over this Dr Crokes team and all over the club more generally as he’s helped device so much of their coaching structures. He’s ably assisted by Edmund O’Sullivan, Vince Casey (a former Crokes manager), Niall O’Callaghan and Der Brosnan.