Versatile Doyle the heartbeat of the Lilywhites
Just like McGeeney, Doyle has dedicated himself to self-improvement and to the team ethic. Like his manager, the Lilywhite captain is a much better operator at 32 than he was at 22, when he last appeared in an All-Ireland semi-final. That is true even if his influence has rarely been anything but seismic.
And like McGeeney, he was always happy to lead by example, to run himself to a standstill, to graft for the team.
The problem for Kildare was that for many years, Doyle was the premier attacking threat apart from a few years when Tadhg Fennin was in his pomp.
The conundrum facing managers was where best to deploy the Allenwood marksman. The tendency is to have your leading scorer closest to goal but such is Doyle’s prodigious work-rate hat he was wanted in the half-forward line too.
He started this summer inside but since the qualifier against Derry, has been given the running role, often as part of the third line of two forwards deployed by the Lilywhites.
That means he will often be seen behind his own half-back line, foraging, blocking and tackling. It doesn’t preclude him showing up at the other end to take his chances though.
There have been off days with the boot, from play and placed balls, but it never seems to get him down.
“There’s a bit of belief there,” said Doyle about the team recently. “We don’t panic.”
Certainly, the manner in which Kildare overcame the loss of Dermot Earley three minutes into the quarter-final against Meath indicates as much. Especially as they were 1-3 down and looking quite shaky 10 minutes in.
On a personal level though, Doyle encapsulated his own principles with an amazing performance against Monaghan in the final round of qualifiers.
On that occasion he kicked six first-half wides and added a couple of more in the second half.
It was a testament to the man that he could separate his free-taking from the rest of his game, however. While the wayward shooting continued to dog him – two points was his lowest championship return since the Leinster championship loss to Wicklow in 2008 – he had a hand in 1-6 of Kildare’s final tally of 1-15.
“Johnny just keeps going and keeps going,” says selector, Niall Carew. “He knows it’ll happen for him.
“For Roly (Ronan) Sweeney’s goal that day, he made three different runs for passes that never came. Then he went on a 50-yard sprint and took two heavy tackles to win possession before getting James Kavanagh away.
“James wasn’t even touched as he went up the end-line to send the ball across for Roly, who had only to palm the ball to an empty net. Johnny had taken all the punishment to make the chance.”
McGeeney, the man who espouses the virtues of the Spartans, their willingness to protect their colleagues and make them look better than them, would have appreciated that.
“Johnny will do what he’s asked all the time which isn’t always the case with a player of his ability” Carew explains. “And he’s always trying to do the right thing.
“What’s more, out on the pitch he’ll outrun everyone. He’s also the bravest player I’ve ever seen. He won’t mind getting busted to get to that ball, or to get it to a team-mate.”
Kildare may no longer be a one-man attack with the likes of James Kavanagh, Eamonn Callaghan and Alan Smith around. But that man is still setting the bar.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
