Royal engagement for Kerry Under 21 hurlers

Meath v Kerry BY DAMIAN STACK

IT’S where any hurler worth his salt wants to be. Croke Park is all well and good, but Semple Stadium that’s the real deal for a hurler. That’s the place where legends are born, where hurlers sear themselves into the national consciousness.

This Kerry Under 21 team have already got their first taste of Semple this season and they clearly enjoyed it. They scored seven goals and twenty two points in the quarter-final victory over Donegal just a couple of weeks ago.

Donegal weren’t expected to provide any sort of meaningful test for Kerry and so it proved, but there’s something encouraging in Kerry’s hunger for the spoils of victory. The game was run early doors and, yet, they didn’t ease up. They fought to the finish.

Kerry eyes were and are firmly fixed on a return to Semple in early September. First they have to overcome a pretty decent Meath side in Trim this Saturday afternoon. If the quarter-final was a gimme, this one is anything but.

True enough Kerry have tended to hold the whip hand at minor level in any contests with Meath, but they’ve always known they’ve been in a game afterwards. Whatever Kerry face on Saturday afternoon it’s all but certain to be a major set up in class.

The Royals have the look of a determined side. They hammered reigning champions Wicklow in their quarter-final game, 1-22 to 0-12, with star man Jack Regan hitting fifteen points. Granted most of those were from placed balls, but that just goes to show how disciplined Kerry will need to be.

That said Kerry should have enough about them in defence to keep the score down – Fionán Horgan, Darragh Shanahan, John Buckley, Jason Diggins, Keith Carmody, Billy Lyons, it’s a formidable array of talent.

On paper Meath are nowhere near as talented as Kerry. We saw at the weekend just how good guys like Jordan Brick and Jack Goulding (left) can be and they’re not even the stars of the show. Those are probably Michael O’Leary – scorer of 2-1 against Donegal – and Jordan Conway.

Philip Lucid too is a huge presence for Kerry in the centre of the park. His likely battle with Meath’s Luke Martyn – scorer of 0-2 against Wicklow – should be one of the game’s fascinating contests.

It won’t be easy but Kerry should win this game.

Verdict: Kerry