Kennelly flying high as Swans win again

WHILE Championship football can be the most unforgiving of sporting arenas — just ask Joe Kernan this morning — Australian Rules isn’t too far behind its northern hemisphere cousin.

In the harsh climate of the AFL, it is the ‘disposal’ that is the currency of choice for the critics — a statistical weapon which they like to sharpen before plunging into their victim or alternatively, one they spit-polish and present as the glimmering numerical evidence of just how positive a contribution their chosen hero has made.

This weekend, Ireland’s two leading lights Down Under simply couldn’t have endured a more contrasting time on that front. The disposal count — as the term used to describe the amount of times a player gets his hand on the ball in a match — was at the forefront of the gushing praise of Tadhg Kennelly’s superb performance for the Sydney Swans and the equally searing criticism of Setanta Ó hAilpín’s display for Carlton Blues.