Still on top of his game
Kerry await Moran’s big call
JACK O’CONNOR’S desire for David Moran to return for one more season is likely to have been amplified by simultaneous events last Sunday afternoon.
Any satisfaction the Kerry manager may have gleaned from his understrength team rallying to a one-point win over Clare in Austin Stack Park was almost certainly lost by the sight of Diarmuid O’Connor hobbling out of the stadium afterwards on crutches.
In a county that has traditionally relied on a fear láidir figure in the middle of the field, the 23-year-old Na Gael man has long been identified as Kerry’s future.
At the exact same time, Moran, a player on the brink of being part of the Kingdom’s past, was ruling the skies in Croke Park for Kerins O’Rahillys, ensuring that Kilmacud’s passage to the All-Ireland final was anything but routine.
In the end, it came down to a final play, when Moran’s fisted goal effort was taken off the line by the Dublin champions’ Dara Mullin.
It may also have been Moran’s final touch of a ball at GAA HQ, given that he is due to make a decision on his inter-county future any day now.
The sense — and fear — in Kerry is that, having weighed it all up, Moran may see this as the end just as Lee Keegan did earlier this week.
He has been on the go as an inter-county player for 16 seasons (he was part of the extended training panel in 2007), he will be 35 next June, is expecting his second child in a matter of months and is a partner in a thriving accounting business.
On the field, he has ticked all his career boxes as a three-time AllIreland winner and a two-time All-Star — all of which was done the hard way.
His 111 appearances to date for Kerry would have been so much greater but for a career dogged by serious injuries that included rupturing the cruciate on his knee while he also once sustained a tear to the retina in his eye.
Put all that together, and manager O’Connor may have reason to fear how his next conversation with his towering midfielder will unfold.
It is both a tribute to Moran’s importance as a player and an indictment of Kerry’s lack of midfield depth that the Kingdom’s defence of their All-Ireland title may pivot on that chat.
Of course, the injury to Diarmuid O’Connor is a temporary setback, but midfield has long been viewed as a problematic area, despite Jack Barry’s nomination for an All-Star this season.
The loss of last year’s captain Joe O’Connor to a cruciate injury, that will rule him out for the remainder of the season, has compounded the issue.
Indeed, such are Kerry’s impoverished options that in the recent past speculation has focused on Seán O’Shea playing the middle; a prospect likely to gain traction with team boss O’Connor, given how the Kenmare man continues to thrive in an advanced role.
Of course, the next couple of months might yield a hidden gem but fear láidirs tend to be in full view and right now the midfield landscape in the Kingdom looks sparse.
For that reason, there is an urgency to the yearning for Moran to return.And it is not just because the Kingdom find themselves caught short.
The temptation is to file Moran’s performance last weekend in the ‘rolling back the years’ category, but it was nothing of the sort.
In 2021, he could have considered himself unlucky not to have won a third All-Star as Matthew
Ruane’s partner on the team of the year, capping a fine season by being the dominant midfielder against Tyrone.
However, he ultimately lost out because the team did not get over the line.
Last season, his failure to make the shortlist for the team of the year was at odds with a player who had a major impact on Kerry’s
All-Ireland fortunes and did so despite missing the entire National League with a serious groin injury.
The team were in an uncomfortable place in their Munster SFC opener against Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn, but his arrival from the bench — marked by his honing in on the home team’s kick–out — allowed Kerry to cruise through the final quarter.
He would not have started against Mayo in the quarter-final only for Barry’s enforced absence. However his performance that afternoon, from start to finish, confounded everyone including O’Connor, who admitted afterwards that he didn’t think Moran still had a full game in him.
His instinct may have been correct and in a contest of relentless pace and intensity against Dublin, he was benched shortly after making an error that led to Cormac Costello’s goal.
However, in the opening half, he was sharp and influential as Kerry sprinted form the blocks.
His poor game in the final for some coloured his season, but also demanded to be viewed in the context of having suffered from a bout of tonsillitis in the aftermath of the semi-final. In what has long become a squad game, having Moran in reserve — as he showed against Cork — to see out tight games has the potential to be seasondefining
“Midfield is
viewed as a problem area” “Having him
in reserve could be vital”
for the Kingdom.
And his team-mates know that too.
‘We would love if David was back and able to commit for another season. But ultimately that’s a decision for David and himself and his family to come to,’ said Paul Murphy this week.
‘Whether he feels he can commit again for 2023, he has other things going on outside of football that have to be considered as well. But look, we are hoping he will.’
In an interview prior to Christmas, Moran admitted he had been unsure about returning last season, but offered a glimmer of optimism that he might convince himself to go back again.
His club’s extended run in the championship and the condensed nature of the inter-county season could inform that decision.
‘At my age it’s very difficult to take a huge period out and then go back in to try and go through pre-season or inter-county training and trying to get the body to hold up.
‘Apart from getting to the level of guys who are maybe seven, eight or 10 years younger, trying to stay injury-free is probably even a bigger challenge.
‘That I’m still playing at the moment and still staying fit is probably an advantage, or maybe it’s just keeping that decision open as opposed to if I was finished two months ago it might be a very easy decision.’
Easy or hard, there is no mistaking that it will be a big one for Kerry.