DOMINANT

Tallking points

DECADE

In the noughties Cr Crokes were more often the bridesmaid than the bride – they ran up against a dominant South Kerry side and had to make do with just one title – but since the turn of the decade they’ve become by far the strongest force in Kerry football. They’ve been in seven of the nine finals played to date, winning six of those and on Sunday they stand a great chance of making it seven from seven. Should they win on Sunday it’ll make the most dominant decade for a club or district in the history of Kerry football. Only Tralee Mitchels at the turn of the last century match them at the moment (Mitchels won six between 1902 and 1908). About the only other record Crokes don’t hold outright is the roll of honour, which they curently share with Austin Stacks. Win on Sunday and they go clear on their own. It’s been a remarkable run of success.

DEFENSIVE ISSUES

In the early rounds of the championship it appeared as though the Crokes were having some serious defensive issues. After two rounds they’d conceded an average of twenty three points per game and in just two games had given up five goals – the last ten minutes against Kerins O’Rahillys in Round 2 showed the dangers posed by those defensive issues. Since then the Crokes have obviously done a lot of work on their defensive structures. Bit by bit the amount they’re conceding per game is reducing. From that twenty three point margin they’re now down to eighteen points per game, on the high side, but those early issues factor into that – if you look at the last two games (quarter-final and semi-final) Crokes are conceding an average of just over twelve points. That’s real improvement. One thing Pat O’Shea wont’ be happy with, however, is the continued concession of goals – they’re giving up on aveage two a game.