O'Keeffe banks on goals to beat the Australians

JOHN O’KEEFFE is banking on goals for Ireland if they are to be successful against Australia in the opening test in the Coca-Cola International Rules Series in Croke Park on Sunday.

Manager for the first time after serving as a selector under Colm O’Rourke and Brian McEniff for the previous two series, O’Keeffe announced a panel yesterday which was notable for the absence of key players.

Injuries and other factors rule out Darren Fay, Michael Donnellan, Dermot Earley, Declan O’Keeffe, Anthony Tohill, Sean Marty Lockhart and Peter Canavan. However, Armagh captain Kieran McGeeney is available and despite an earlier announcement that he was retiring from inter-county activity, Graham Geraghty, is also included.