Driving force Kelly revels in change of roles for Laois

MENTION Tom Kelly in Laois and they will talk about attitude. The centre-back is supposed to have the right helping of the stuff, for the game and for life.

That has not always been the case with footballers in the county, so maybe that is why he stands out.

And this year, he has been standing out as the driving force in the Laois defence. Used as a corner-back in the league, Micko and his backroom knew they needed to tinker with the team by half-time against Offaly, come championship time. A change was proposed for Kelly. He was slotted in at centre-back. He and Laois haven’t looked back since.