Postman Payne looking to deliver on Munster stage
IN most towns it’s the dogs that bite the postman but in Killarney things are a little different. When John Payne is doing his rounds the dogs would almost open the garden gate for him and wave him through. Partly out of fear - they know not to trifle with this tenacious defender - and partly out of respect - there aren’t that many All-Ireland Club Championship winners in the town - even the dogs on the street know that good things come in small packages, especially when Postman Payne is delivering the goods.
Next Sunday Payne will lead Dr Crokes out onto Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds for another Munster Club Final for himself and his band of brothers. Coming 32 years of age next February, Payne is one of the older players on the Dr Crokes panel. He’s also one of the more nailed-on starters on the team, a piece of furniture so embedded in the full back line that you’d hardly know he was there, but that you’d most certainly miss if he wasn’t.
The list of honours won by Payne is impressive - eight East Kerry SFC titles, seven County SFC titles, five Munster Club and County Club Championships among them - and, of course, that All-Ireland Club medal from March 2017. But it’s all on the line again on Sunday, with the Crokes heading to Limerick with a provincial title to try and win back, before moving on to reclaim the All-Ireland title they relinquished 12 months ago when beaten by Nemo Rangers in the Munster Final.
Payne is reminded that he played an absolute blinder against Nemo - he executed at least three goal-denying blocks and interventions - but gives a wistful smile that speaks volumes: individuals don’t win games, teams do, and Crokes lost that day.
It’s why everyone around Lewis Road this week will talk in careful tones, aware what their 21-point win over St Finbarrs in the semi-final screams, but happy to remind anyone who cares to listen that, yes, they’ll enter this game as favourites, but, no, they’re not taking anything for granted. That they cannot afford to.
“We’ve been here before and probably were expected to win last year (against Nemo) and you saw what happened in Cork. We’re okay with being favourites for games but then you have to deliver. It’s all about the next game. You have to be tuned in, go out and then hopefully do the business. Then you have another game to look forward to and you can start to set your goals again,” he says.
He reflects on the last few months and accepts that things weren’t right at the start of the county championship in September. He puts the scratchy performance against St Kierans down to the return of the Kerry players and the usual issues of gelling them into a team that has been playing county league together all summer. The fourth quarter collapse to O’Rahillys he puts down to complacency, but the lesson has been well learned.
“We just got complacent. What were we, ten points up or something and we just got complacent and it thought us a good lesson. That’s what happens when you get complacent. If fellas aren’t on the ball good teams will beat you. O’Rahillys are a very good team and Miltown-Malbay are a good team,” he says. “There was no real hair-dryer from Pat (O’Shea) after it. Pat was on the sideline that day, he didn’t get complacent. We were on the pitch, we were up ten points, it was on us. It’s all about attitude in that respect.
“I’d say we were favourites for the Stand Road game, and I’d say we were the favourites to beat Nemo last year, so they’re all lessons to be learned. I presume the bookies will have us as favourites for next week too but we’re certainly not worried about the odds anyway.”
The 2013 Munster Final comes up, a one-point win for Dr Crokes over then Clare champions Cratloe when it took an injury-time winning point from Johnny Buckley to get the odds-on Kerry champions to get over the winning line.
Payne was an ever-present in the fullback line that day and it’s probable that only eight of that starting team five years ago will start against Miltown-Malbay on Sunday. That means plenty of new and young faces in the team now, something that Payne is more than happy with.
“We (older players) try to instil a bit of experience or knowledge on the younger fellas just to get them going but there isn’t much else to it. These young fellas want to win as much as any of us. These boys haven’t lost too much with this team. We all want to win, no one wants to lose, whether it’s a sprint at training or a card game or whatever. You don’t want to be on the losing side any day, especially when you put in so much effort, so that motivation is there all the time.”
In a player profile in a match programme last year Payne said his favourite film is The Young Offenders. Whatever about the plot-line of the movie, Payne will be hoping his young team mates Shaw, Brosnan and Kiely can offend to the opposition on Sunday by way of racking up a winning score against them.
At the other end of the pitch Payne will be asked to produce another stout defensive performance, like he has posted so many times before.
Just like in the day job, John Payne - the quintessential club footballer - is a man for all seasons, and the team captain will demand of himself that he delivers leadership and example. And ultimately he will want to deliver that Munster Club title back to Lewis Road when the dogs on the street will greet him with barks not bites.