Kerry’s National League opponents assessed

With the National Football League just over a week away Paul Brennan considers Kerry fixtures and opponents in what will be a more condensed campaign that usual

JUST 10 days now until the Kerry footballers launch the defence of their National League title in what will be a slightly more condensed schedule, running from January 28 to March 25. Along the way Kerry have three home games - starting with Donegal on Sunday week in Killarney, as well as the visit of both promoted counties, Galway and Kildare, to Austin Stack Park later in the campaign. That means the difficult task of four away games, starting with a Saturday night game against Mayo in Castlebar on February 3, Monaghan a week later in Inniskeen, followed by a League Final rematch with Dublin in Croke Park in early March, and finally a Round 7 match away to Tyrone.

As recent seasons have shown, the final standings in the Division One table are notoriously difficult to predict, with semi-finalists (last year changed to a straight final) and relegation candidates often only being decided in the final round. Indeed, on occasions a county has found itself move from a relegation spot to a play-off position - and vice-versa - on the final day. Last year’s move away from semi-finals to a straight final between the top two only slightly took from that element of the League, and all in all the abolition of the top four play-offs has been seen as a good thing.

Indeed, many would go further and say that a League is just that, and that the top team after the regulation rounds should be conferred the champion. In that scenario Kerry wouldn’t have won its 20th title as they finished three points behind table toppers Dublin, with the Kingdom creeping into second spot, ahead of Donegal, Monaghan and Mayo, by virtue of a better scoring difference.

In any event, the 2018 League is a ‘two up two down’ format, and it will probably take at least eight points to be in contention for one of those top two placings. It goes without saying that Kerry will be targetting their three homes games as banker wins, although history has taught us that home advantage doesn’t guarantee anything when it comes to this Kerry team. In fact, last year Kerry won their first game away to Donegal, then lost their next two matches, at home to Mayo and then Monaghan, before claiming their second win against Roscommon up in Dr Hyde Park. With a draw against then defending League champions, Dublin, in Tralee on St Patrick’s Day weekend, it was left to the seventh and final round game before Kerry recorded their only home League win of 2017, a 1-21 to 2-11 victory over Tyrone in Fitzgerald Stadium.

Kerry’s other result was a draw away to Cavan, which meant they took three points off the promoted teams, Tyrone and Cavan, something that Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s team will surely look to at least match, given that they are two home fixtures. Needless to say there are no certainties against any team in what is always a very competitive and often unpredictable division, and Galway and Kildare will journey to Tralee confident of springing a shock result on a Kerry team that has routinely shown erratic form over an entire League campaign. Two years ago Roscommon - newly promoted after the 2015 campaign - came south to Killarney and shocked Kerry with a onepoint win in atrocious wind and rain, another great leveller in spring football.

Quite how Kerry’s Division One opposition will measure up through the campaign is anyone’s guess: what we do know is that team personnel and their approach will change greatly from late January to late March as the more established and experienced players drift back into the scene after extended winter breaks. In that regard Kerry, for example, won’t have the services of David Moran, Donnchadh Walsh and Kiean Donaghy - at least - for a considerable number of League games. All-Ireland Club commitments also means that certain counties won’t have some players available to them for at least some portion of the League, with Galway and Kildare down their Corofin and Moorefield contingent respectively.

New Donegal manager Declan Bonner will be missing a number of experienced players for the early part of the League with team captain Michael Murphy and defenders Neil McGee and Frank McGlynn ruled out for the first three games at least, while another defender, Paddy McGrath, is looking at a March return after a cruciate ligament injury.

Quite who and what Mayo and Dublin bring to the early rounds remains to be seen, but Mayo manager Stephen Rochford will surely use the League to unearth a few young players to complement what is considered to be an aging squad. With that in mind the Connacht county called up several members of their 2016 All-Ireland winning under-21 team including Seamus Cunniffe, Michael Hall, Michael Plunkett, Sharoize Akram, Matthew Ruane, Brian Reape and James Carr for the FBD Connacht League, with some of those expected to be given a sustained opportunity over the next couple of months. Dublin manager Jim Gavin will, as always, use February and March to rest a few of his first team players and look to unearth one or two young talents, such as Con O’Callaghan and Cormac Costello in the past. Up north Malachy O’Rourke and Mickey Harte will be looking to breath fresh life in Monaghan and Tyrone respectively, with their focus more likely to be on the Ulster Championship and beyond rather than looking all that seriously at a League title. Harte has already acknowledged in the wake of their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Dublin last August that he may have to tear up the old blueprint, or at least move away from the defensive-centric game they’ve been synonymous with, in favour of a more conventional attack-minded approach. The thinking in Tyrone and it might also be the case with a few other counties - with regard to trying to catch Dublin in the summer is ‘if you can’t beat them, join them or imitate them’.

As rewarding as Kerry’s League title win was last year, it was as much about beating Dublin as it was about claiming title no.20 for the Kingdom. No matter what anyone within the Kerry camp or outside it might say, that was a huge game for Kerry to win. The earlier draw in Tralee in March, alas, wasn’t the spoke in the wheel Kerry hoped would derail the Dubs’ unbeaten streak, which saw them surpass the previous record, held by Kerry, a couple of games later. Nevertheless, it was still fitting that Kerry were the team to finally inflict a defeat on Dublin, even if their Championship ended in disappointment four months later.

The old adage that the League is for playing but the Championship is for winning was never more heeded than in Kerry, but recent history has shown that a League title in April is no albatros to carry into the summer. Before last year, Kerry’s three most previous League titles, 2004, 2006 and 2009, were followed later that year by an All-Ireland title.

Dublin have done League and Championship doubles in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Cork’s 2010 All-Ireland title came on the back of a Division 1 league title earlier that year.

It can hardly be a coincidence that Tyrone’s only two NFL titles in 2002 and 2003 prefaced three All-Ireland titles in six years, starting in 2003.

With that in mind, it might be well within Mayo’s interest to go hammer and tongs to win their first League title since 2001.

A successful defence by Kerry wouldn’t do any harm either.