Where will Declan O’Sullivan be most effective for Kerry?

WHEN a coach talks about the first name on the teamsheet, is he necessarily referring to the best player at his disposal or the one who anchors a pivotal position on the field?

If Jack O’Connor, Conor Counihan and their respective management teams were starting with blank pieces of paper, would they frame their team around an individual or a position?

The question is relevant in debating the considerable merits of Declan O’Sullivan, and the occasional problems his admirable versatility brings. I rate the South Kerry man, pound for pound, as the best gaelic footballer in the country and a more natural centre-forward than almost all his peers – Pearse O’Neill included.

But his stunning display at full forward against Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final offered the public, but more importantly the Kerry selectors, a reminder of what he is capable of beyond his natural habitat – when the service is of a required standard.

The illusion supporters have of O’Sullivan as a strong, low to the ground workaholic is framed from the upper tier of whatever stadium he’s performing in. Stand beside him and you’re struck by his powerful, tree-trunk legs, his 6ft frame and his powerful running. Darragh O Sé is of the opinion that he’s as good as anyone he’s played alongside since first donning the Kerry jersey 15 years ago.

It’s not that O’Sullivan and the No 14 position are alien to each other, but such has been Kerry’s pre-occupation with Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh these past three seasons that the self-proclaimed princes of gaelic football were in serious danger of becoming a rich man’s Wimbledon (or Stoke, if a more recent comparison is required).

Occasionally, but not often enough, O’Sullivan threatens to take such control of a game that he appears to be operating on a different plain to the other 29 players. There was a first half cameo in that flash-flooded scorefest against Galway at Croke Park last season. In the final against Tyrone, O’Sullivan began with atomic intensity also, but whether via the dint of Tyrone sweat or a loss of general Kerry direction, he was not the force his form suggested he should be. Nevertheless, he still was central to the defining moment of that decider, almost poking a match-winning goal past Paschal McConnell in the final ten minutes.

So where do Kerry start him against Cork on Sunday? There is no coach who knows the Dromid man better than his club colleague and mentor Jack O’Connor, and he must be smitten by the thought of O’Sullivan in his natural domain on the 40, duking it out with Cork’s captain and talisman Graham Canty.

Striking a psychological blow at the heart of Cork (literally and metaphorically) is a tempting proposition for O’Connor – if only it was that simple.

First, Tadhg Kennelly has shown twice this season he is more than capable of causing Canty discomfort. He also has the physical strength and durability to limit the Bantry man as an attacking spearhead, and it will be some surprise if Kennelly isn’t the man charged with ‘leading’ the Kerry attack.

Which probably means O’Sullivan starts in the full-forward line. With a target man like Tommy Walsh or a speedster like Darran O’Sullivan, who knows? Either way, Declan O’Sullivan close to the Cork goal presents a stark dilemma for Conor Counihan and his co-selectors. Is John Miskella, who has done better than most on O’Sullivan in the past, sacrificed as an attacking wing-back and given the job of shadowing O’Sullivan?

It seems ludicrous to even contemplate such a negative move, but such is the danger of an O’Sullivan-Tommy Walsh axis that the Cork selectors have to have considered it at least.

For instance, if Kerry use Cooper, Walsh and Declan O’Sullivan in the inside line, will Cork be happy to match up with Lynch, Shields and Carey or will it necessitate a shuffling of the deck? That’s Cork’s problem. Kerry’s is to get Declan O’Sullivan involved early and often – because there’s a good reason he’s the first name on Kerry’s teamsheet month after month.