Enough of the handbags, lads

IN ITS most basic form National League football can be, and has been, a platform for many a good team and many a good player.

While the correlation between league and championship success tends to get over-emphasised in these giddy early spring days, getting some vital stage time in off-Broadway shows has, in recent years, been an important part of the graduation process for any team or individual with notions of making an impact as the drama moves centre-stage.

Kerry and Cork, the two teams who have given most to the league and who have taken most from the championship these last two seasons have more reasons than many to remember these early February auditions. As far back as Jack O’ Connor’s debut season seven years ago a hard-fought win over Cork on a dreary night in tomorrow’s venue got a league campaign back on the rails after a shock opening day defeat to Longford. Even last year’s nondescript clash in Páirc Uí Rinn became remarkable for the long term imprint on Kerry’s year as Paul Galvin’s sending off had a knock on effect further on into the championship.

There may be more glamorous games ahead for both Cork and Kerry (games against Dublin in two and three weeks time respectively) but the likes of Conor O’Driscoll, Pádraig O’Connor, Jonathan Lyne, and David Geaney are unlikely to sample the NFL at its most primal again from here to the end of the league.

An unfortunate side-effect of recent Cork-Kerry clashes has been the number of disciplinary incidents arising from the games. Those of us who sermonise from the penny pulpits of newspaper pages mightn’t always like to admit our limited influence on proceedings either with the use of terms like ‘skirmish’, ‘blood and bandage’ and ‘stormy encounter’ all being used during the week in anticipation of the latest renewal of hostilities. While not wishing to douse the game with antiseptic and squeeze all colour out of the local derby, I’ve become bored with Kerry and Cork players squaring up to each other, feigning injury, engaging in ‘hold me back’ machismo, trash talking and generally getting involved in all different distractions, antics and sideshows. Games like these are nothing without passion but the real hard men go about their business discreetly and putting up and shutting up would be a welcome development in this Munster rivalry.

JACK O’CONNOR bristled when the subject of discipline, or lack thereof, was broached after Kerry’s championship exit last year but the winter months seem to have brought with them a realisation that some calls against his team that appeared, and indeed were manifestly unjust, were merely karmic effects of other misdeeds catching up with them. If Kerry are to effect a smooth transition from hunted to hunter, they’re going to have to have disciplined, dispassionate football as a cornerstone of the team’s development. Having Michael Duffy on duty tomorrow, a referee who sent off a player after 20 seconds in a club game this time last year, should keep players honest but maintaining discipline shouldn’t be a chore, but rather an in-built reflex action for both teams.

In winning the McGrath Cup, Kerry used 29 players over the course of four games. It’s an impressive turnover of personnel given the fact that three Kerry clubs were involved in Munster and All-Ireland championships and that other players are either injured, ineligible or in recovery. Cork were no less impressive in their early season show of richesse. Fielding a strong team against Meath in a challenge match the same weekend as another outfit ran Kerry close in the McGrath Cup semi-final could be interpreted as ostentatious but for we know Conor Counihan to be a practical man.

What then can both teams glean from their league campaigns? Summer, as always will determine the value of Kerry’s campaign but three or four viable new starters would represent success. A continuation of the good form shown so far at midfield by David Moran would lessen the anxiety of Kerry supporters at spending another season without a truly formidable midfield. The absence of proven performers like Paul Galvin, Declan O’Sullivan and Colm Cooper is offset by the unavailability of three Cork All-Star defenders — Canty, Kissane and Shields.

It is at the other side of the field that the game will be won and lost however. It is here also, that both managers have most to learn. The two Pádraigs, Reidy and O’Connor have a golden opportunity to upset the established collective should they manage to contain Colm O’Neill and Daniel Goulding. A tall order surely but a task that might not be beyond them on a heavy spring sod. We can expect Aidan O’Mahony and Tomás Ó Sé to go toe to toe with Pearse O’Neill and Fintan Goold but the real curiosity factor for most Kerry supporters will be in seeing Jonathan Lyne’s tussle with Patrick Kelly. Lyne has impressed in the Kerry jersey so far and his aggressive burst of pace and high energy levels seem ideally suited to 70 minutes tracking a clever footballer like Kelly. He isn’t one of these half backs with ‘defender’ printed on his forehead and much like Killian Young before him, he could benefit from some game time in the full-back line — just to see a consummate footballing defender like Marc Ó Sé in action up close. Curbing his natural instincts wouldn’t be the thing to do right now, however, and it would greatly encourage the Kerry faithful to see the blue-blood Legion tyro show a healthy disregard for his illustrious opponent and dictate things on his league debut tomorrow.

Cork’s league campaign last year confirmed what most people already knew and what Kerry people suspected and perhaps feared — the tide was turning. Despite all the absentees tomorrow, Cork can still field a team that has a formidable look about it. Kerry are anything but formidable but they are still quite strong for a group supposed to be in the business of renewal and regeneration. Experimentation and winning league points aren’t mutually exclusive but Cork’s panel just seems that bit stronger right now. Cork to win.