TRALEE CBS THREE TO WATCH

DEVON BURNS, GOALKEEPER

Devon Burns made the All Star Minor Team last year, and with good reason. As a goalkeeper, he ticks every box. He has lightning reflexes and a great positional sense. He has excellent positional sense and communicates well with his defence. His kick-outs are quick, clever, and most importantly, accurate.

While not the tallest, he commands well in the air and is decisive. More than any of those skills, however, he has the temperament. He won’t get flustered and he transmits that to the players around him. The Sem have a penchant for goal-scoring, but this is a serious obstacle to their hopes.

JOSEPH LENIHAN, MIDFIELD

The former Kerry minor is in his third year with the seniors. While the likes of Quilter, Hayes, and Purcell get the scoring plaudits, Lenihan is the key player in the engine room. Tall and with a great pair of hands, he can field like a traditional midfielder, but he has the engine that’s required for the modern game and his long kick-passing is very often the lock-pick that opens doors. Midfield is going to be a key battleground for both teams and it’ll be a long and drawn out struggle – Lenihan will be looking to match his Sem namesake Michael and establish a real foothold here.

SEÁN QUILTER, FORWARD

Tralee have razor-sharp forwards, but there is no question but that Quilter is the key man. While he is usually played as a target-man, and his fielding ability makes him the obvious target for an advance mark, he is also deadly as a poacher and has come out deep to shore up play. He is deadly accurate and hard to stop – if he gets his hands on the ball, it’s probably already too late to stop him. Tralee CBS have too much strength in depth to be relying on any one player, but the Sem will know that nullify Quilter will give them a huge chance of winning. Easier said than done, though.