Youth policy pays off for Kerry

Kerry 2-18 Mayo 0-10: A couple of years ago, Stephen Wallace and Kerry county chairman, Patrick O’Sullivan, hatched a plan to address the lack of opportunities for talented young players to wear the county jersey.

That may seem an odd mission, given the success of the minors over the last 18 months or so, but it wasn’t always that way. Far from it.

Last year’s minor All Ireland win was a first in 20 years, while Kerry’s U21s have contested just one All-Ireland final — and won it, in 2008 — since 1999.