Captain Diggins positive he’ll be fit for final

TEAM captain Jason Diggins is a commanding presence on the pitch, providing the type of leadership one expects from those players who wear the armband.

He reflected on the campaign to date confirming that the injury he picked up in the semi-final will not prevent his participation in the final. He is confident that having moved up through all of the grades with this particular group of players that they have enough quality and strength in depth to get the job done.

“In an All-Ireland semi-final you expect a better game going into the final, hoping to get a tough game, get over the line, but there wasn’t much competition. Kildare in the previous game, we were lucky we came out on top in that one.

“Down gave a good account of themselves as well. The last day things weren’t going my way. I went off injured with the knee towards the end. It isn’t anything too major, so I will struggle through it.

“Trying to balance everything is kind of tough. We are training every night of the week between Kerry and the club. We give what we can to both the club and the county.

“This year is a very strong team compared to last year, when we thought we couldn’t get a better team.

“There’s an outstanding panel of players, a great bunch of lads. Most of us have played together coming from under-14s all the way up, a lot of the same faces, some new faces as well.

“You wouldn’t want to be getting too carried away, Derry were in the A competition last year, they played Kilkenny in the All Ireland semi-final, so we will be ready for a tough battle.

“We are more than capable of coming out with the right result at the end of the day, but Derry won’t be easy to beat. But, I am confident we have enough hard work done in training, and I think we will get over the line.”