Kerry SFC the Kingdom’s greatest petri dish for inter-county talent

For decades, divisional teams have ensured heightened exposure to various tactical ploys, ultimately benefiting the standards of football within the county while aiding the senior team

Sat, 30 Oct, 2021 - 07:00

Maurice Brosnan

Last June, Stefan Okunbor stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the 6’ 7’’ Rhys Stanley as Geelong and Footscray prepared for their own Australian throw-in.

Centre bounce is influenced by a variety of tactics and strategies, a domain locals dedicate hours of training to master.

The Cats trusted in their Kerryman to help swing it their way.

As it turns out, the 22-year-old had been studying this aspect of the game, moulding his game after paying attention to one player in particular. Inspiration that stemmed from the roots and his Na Gael club-mate, Jack Barry. His movement and timing prompted Okunbor to adopt a similar strategy. The former U20 star carried with him community expertise. He returns more than capable of enhancing it.

Such influence and external impact are inevitable when you bring together players from a variety of backgrounds. This weekend’s Kerry county championship is the ultimate testament to that. Injury deprives Dingle of their own two Australian Rules exports, Deividas Uosis is side-lined with shin splints while Mark O’Connor continues to rehab an injury suffered at the end of the season, but their presence and insight into professional sport will still prove invaluable.

This process is an annual occurrence elsewhere. Divisional teams are already processing new inputs.

The county championship is the Kingdom’s greatest petri dish, pooling footballers from various clubs together to share resources and stimulate one another.

For decades, divisional teams have ensured heightened exposure to various tactical ploys, ultimately benefiting the standards of football within the county while aiding the senior team.

In 1988, Timmy Brosnan captained St Kieran’s to a fairytale final victory over Dr. Crokes. At the time, they were rank outsides and made up of just six rural clubs with Desmond’s uninvolved. Yet they had an efficient system and the personnel needed to implement it.

“John McNally was from Tyrone, but he married a Scartaglin woman. He was a maths teacher in St Pats and a great football trainer,” recalls Brosnan. “He knew football and the training side of it. A very good disciplinarian. He was that schoolteacher influence, commanding respect and getting a structure, the Brian Cody or John Kiely type. He got a lot of lads used to organisation and discipline.”

For Jack O’Connor, this weekend is the first stress test. A welcome opportunity for potential new prospects to make the jump. Brosnan points to Paudie Clifford as an example of someone who demonstrated he had the ability to fill a void on the senior side last year.

“It is a massive learning opportunity for any player. I remember Pa Dennehy came onto our team; he was almost 19.

“Suddenly he was training with Jack O’Connell, Mick Galwey, Sean McElligott. He really benefited from that. Thanks to that he was on the Kerry senior team. He would never have been spotted otherwise, it developed him. He wasn’t a Kerry minor or U21. St Kieran’s forged him and brought him to the fore.”

This remains a selling point. Brosna’s Jimmy Deane was a wingback for Kieran’s back then. He is manager now. Despite the challenging circumstances facing the team this season, the promise of a chance at success on the big stage is only a small part of the overall benefit.

“We’ve seven teams involved with St Kieran’s, so I try to see two championship games for each. You speak to management and share knowledge that way too. This year has been very tough, Castleisland were involved in the semi-final and we had Cordal and Currow playing recently. We only had our first full session last week.

“It stands to them. We would stress that when trying to get players to come in, you will become a better player by getting involved and buying in. It helps them and that helps their club. Last year, we’d Brian Leonard who marked David Clifford and did an excellent job on him. He was called into the extended panel. Eddie Horan kicked two points and was called in because of it. It is a perfect bridge. A premier competition one step below the senior team.”

Their all-consuming football culture demands as many games and players as possible. From this comes a capacity for reinvention and confidence in development. Could the new management ticket ask for a greater safety net? Of course, Jack O’Connor already knows this. In his previous reign he saw the South Kerry ties carried into the senior team. He knows the history.

How the great Pat Griffin moved from Kildare to Killorglin in 1963 and demonstrated his prowess on the 40 for Mid Kerry. How an 18-year-old Eamon O’Donoghue was ahead of his time with the victorious 1964 Shannon Rangers as he dropped back into defence from wing forward for kickouts.

How Kerry utilised that to develop an implicit understanding between O’Donoghue and Mick O’Connell for subsequent All-Ireland successes.

How a young Declan O’Sullivan’s surging runs from deep for South Kerry were utilised to produce similar devastation nationally. Later, how his understanding with Killian Young and Bryan Sheehan proved invaluable. How Kenmare District’s 2016 final run was a timely elevation for the Templenoe contingent as they made the move from Junior C to intercounty.

A championship that comes with a guarantee. Few fall through the cracks, everyone gets a chance to shine. This competition stimulates and sustains Kerry. The hope now is that the 2021 edition advances them.