Joe O'Connor set for Kerry captaincy

Joe O'Connor of Kerry. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Joe O'Connor looks set to be Austin Stacks' nomination for Kerry captain for 2022.

The midfielder, who was injured in the club's Munster Club SFC final defeat to St Finbarrs, is expected to be announced as the skipper early next week.

It had been feared O'Connor had damaged his cruciate in Semple Stadium but Kerry manager Jack O'Connor ruled out that prognosis on Monday. "It has been confirmed that it looks like a cartilage problem more than ligaments so that is good news and that is about the best news that he could have got.“ 

A member of Peter Keane's panel last year, O'Connor scored a goal after coming on as a substitute in the Division 1 win over Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park last May. The ratification of the captaincy will be confirmed at next Monday's county committee meeting in Austin Stack Park. Given that he is not a regular starter for Kerry, O'Connor's nomination will revive the debate about the nomination of the captaincy being the gift of the county champions. Kerry along with Kilkenny are the only two leading counties who continue with the practice.

In February 2020, the Kingdom reaffirmed their position on the matter following a debate prompted by a Beaufort motion to allow the senior football and hurling management teams select their captains. Although the club's proposal received majority support, it fell some way short of the required two-third backing required to come into rule.

Jack O’Connor said: "The captaincy is something that will be discussed between Austin Stacks and the county board. It is irrelevant the way I feel about it because that is the system. I am a pragmatist and there is no point in me getting excited about it. Sure, you cannot have everything you like. That’s the system and it’s stood Kerry well in the past and until that is changed, that is good enough for me."