Kerry's Dylan Casey looking to drive on after first start
FIRST START: Dylan Casey is ready to kick on for Kerry after earning first start. Pic: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus Ltd
The opening strides of an inter-county career are rarely smooth or seamless. Dylan Casey was no exception.
Casey popped up on the green and gold radar during the autumn and winter months of 2021. Then only 21, he captained Austin Stacks to a first county in seven years.
“I’m doing this 14 or 15 years now, managing teams and coaching teams, and the first thing I will say is that I have never come across a better fella,” said then Stacks manager Wayne Quillinan of why he handed the captaincy to one of the team’s youngest members.
Casey’s subsequent Kerry call-up was earned and expected. He started at corner-back in Rounds 4 through 7 of the league. Come championship, though, it was Graham O’Sullivan who had nabbed the up-for-grabs spot beside Jason Foley and Tom O’Sullivan.
Casey replaced Foley 50 minutes into the Munster final demolition of Limerick for his championship debut. It was his sole championship involvement. An ankle injury sustained late on meant surgery and a summer on the sideline.
League minutes this spring were minimal. He got the second half of the Castlebar stinker. His one and only start was in Salthill on the final weekend.
An unused substitute for their championship opener against Tipp, there followed a sliding doors moment.
Half-back Paul Murphy picked up a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Munster final. Next in line Brian Ă“ BeaglaĂoch, who has just 16 minutes of competitive football in his legs this season, was overlooked. Graham O’Sullivan was moved from corner to the wing, with Casey handed his first championship start.
The opportunity was taken with both hands. He fisted over Kerry’s opening point. He laid on the assist for their opening goal. He forced the turnover that finished with Kerry’s fifth and final goal. And there was plenty more to go along with all that.
“Going well in training,” said Jack O’Connor of Casey afterwards. “It just tells you that we’re always watching what’s happening in training. He’s a good lad. Very focused.”
The manager now has a selection headache. Murphy is expected to be back fit for Mayo in a fortnight. Stick or twist. Go back to the tried and trusted? Retain and reward Casey?
“It was great that I managed to get my first start," Casey reflected after a comfortable Munster final win. “I didn’t have my best day last year on my championship debut when I got the injury, but that’s past me now and thankfully managed to get my first start.”
“[For the first goal], I just continued my run. I’d given a pass and looked to get the ball back. I hadn’t got it back and so I ended up flushing out my run. I turned around then and thankfully, Tony [Brosnan] gave me the ball and trusted me to give it back to him. It all worked out, thankfully.”
Kerry go again in two weeks when Mayo visit Killarney. Casey too will hope to go again in two weeks.
“Everyone wants to be playing football. It can be tough if you’ve a four-to-six-week layoff like last year when you’re slogging it out doing a nice bit of running. Everyone wants to be playing games and every two weeks is what you want. Hopefully, we can keep it going throughout the summer.”
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