Stacks still have the hunger, says Quinn

TRY telling Luke Quinn time heals all wounds.

Eleven months have passed since Dr Crokes’ first-half capitulation against Nemo Rangers in the Munster Club SFC final, and with the Killarney club back in the provincial decider at the first time of asking, Crokes captain Quinn is eager to banish the nightmares of a day he would rather forget.

“I think there’s a lot of unfinished business after what happened last season. Things didn’t go right against Nemo. That’s a bit of an understatement, I suppose. But we aren’t making excuses. That day was a disaster from start to finish.

“The only positive we can take is that we didn’t lie down at half-time, even when we were down around 11 points. Instead we still tried to go out and win the game. That shows our mentality. We got trounced in the first-half, but we still had that belief we could win, which we nearly did. Hopefully we can right the wrongs of that game this year. The hunger is there, definitely.”

But Quinn’s and Dr Crokes’ atonement won’t be complete unless the Kerry champions can silence UCC in Sunday’s Munster final, a task Quinn admits is a big ask, considering the attacking talent of the college side.

“They have a number of Kerry players and each one seems to be individually brilliant, especially their full-forward line who are all big threats on their own and even better altogether,” Quinn said.

“They have six scoring forwards, who have been scoring for fun, a strong midfield and very good backs, with Peter Crowley there, so while they might be a young team they are a very good team.”

The Crokes’ full-back will have his hands full against UCC on Sunday but is confident the club’s new-look defence, which lost goalkeeper Kieran Cremin and backs Mike Moloney and Shane Doolan since last year, has gelled into a mobile and effective unit.

Quinn explained: “We seem to be very flexible this year. Eoin (Brosnan) has played full-back, I have played centre-back and wing-back, Fionn (Fitzgerald) has played corner-back, and even played centre-back, so we have been switching around and now have a great understanding together on the field.

“At times Harry (O’Neill) doesn’t even have to make the switches, there are times in matches where we just recognise things ourselves. Some players are more suited to individual guys and it might be the case of just swapping around ourselves. That comes with experience and with maturity because when you have been playing championship football for so many years you tend to get that experience.”

Meanwhile, Dr Crokes warmed up for Sunday’s club final with a 1-14 to 0-5 victory over local rivals Killarney Legion in an East Kerry championship quarter-final on Saturday.