Man of few words Maher shuns limelight
Anthony Maher turned 28 the day before the Kerry-Mayo replay in Limerick. Perhaps he had a word with himself. Maybe it was time to lead? He led admirably that evening in the Gaelic Grounds, and was still overshadowed by David Moran’s tour-de-force. And, you know what, that is probably the way he likes it.
The limelight is not for Maher, he may stand at 6’5” but he is softly spoken and a man of few words. So, did he see feel as if he became a leader in Limerick? “I think everyone has had the opportunity at different points during the year to be a leader. Everyone in the panel has really stood up as leaders. It is just great to have that freedom from the management to be able to take on the responsibility when you have to. Leadership and team spirit, though, is built all through the year with the small things that happen in games. I think there has been a good strong spirit there all year.”
There was, of course, the small matter of losing some key — and inspirational — leaders in Tomás Ó Sé, Paul Galvin and Eoin Brosnan to retirement and Colm Cooper to injury. All these blows had to absorbed by a young squad by the middle of February, but, according to Maher, the squad embraced the challenge and minds were steeled.
“I think those retirements probably built a little bit of spirit within the squad to prove a few people wrong. So, maybe, that was also part of the building of the team spirit. We had to become a tighter unit, we circled the wagons and we drove on together.”
With two epic encounters with Mayo in the locker, a team lauded for their prowess in the middle third, Maher is confident Kerry are more than ready for Sunday’s decider.
“I think we are in a good place, those games were great tests. Both teams had chances to win both games and we were lucky to come out of it with a win.
“Maybe, we could have been a bit more clinical the second day and could have finished Mayo off earlier. But, in fairness, it is great preparation for the All-Ireland final.”
When asked to describe the modern midfield battleground, Maher subscribes to a common theory — one that underplays his own role.
“The middle now is not about 8 and 9 catching ball left, right and centre. It’s about the goalkeeper kicking out the ball and positions. Numbers five to 12 — that’s the middle unit that is going to get you the win.
“You are not going to catch more than two or three balls clean these days, so it’s still all about the guys on the ground winning breaking ball.”
