Making his mark: Geaney believes O'Connor could have been a Kerry great
MAESTROS: Paul Geaney, left, and Mark O'Connor of Dingle celebrate with the Andy Merrigan Cup after winning the Club SFC at Croke Park. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Paul Geaney reckons his club-mate Mark O’Connor would have been Kerry’s greatest midfielder had he not chosen a professional career.
Less than 10 weeks after helping Dingle to a famous All-Ireland senior club success, O’Connor marked his 150th AFL Premiership game for Geelong Cats with a victory over Adelaide Crows on Friday.
Geaney hasn’t ruled out the 29-year-old from playing senior for Kerry but suggests the county would probably have already surpassed their 40th All-Ireland SFC success had he stuck around.
“He'd be the best Kerry midfielder that we could have produced if he'd stayed around. He would have been a Kerry senior for 15 years if he'd stayed around. His class was there as well. He would have been up there.
“I think Mark's under-age record speaks for itself in that every big final he played in, he was a man of the match. In his second year at minor level, he had a knee issue and he didn't train throughout the year. He pretty much didn't train for most of the year and he turned up to Munster final, a man of the match performance.
“We got to the All-Ireland final and he got another man of the match award. Next, he got man of the match in the Hogan Cup final plus he was man of the match in the Munster U21 final.
“He then went off and he became a professional athlete, and he's done an incredible job at that. Had he stayed, Kerry possibly would have had a couple more All-Irelands as well. But good luck to Mark. He's made a great career out there.”
For Geaney, there was never a doubt O’Connor would establish himself in Australia although 150 games has Geaney scratching his head.
“You knew that Mark was going to make it and you knew that Tom Sullivan was going to make it with Kerry because of the way they approached everything and the way they carried themselves.”
He laughs at O’Connor’s commitment levels. He recalls the aftermath of January’s decider against St Brigid’s when O’Connor had to return to Victoria and his club-mates continued their celebrations.
“He flew the Tuesday or the Wednesday night back to Australia. And the following day, he sent a Snapchat. He was looking at GMHBA Stadium in the dark. It was middle of the night there in Australia and we were going to the next pub.
“I was just scratching my head saying, 'I don't know, how could you face that now at the moment? And the next day, there was photos of him training.”
Along with O’Sullivan and Geaney, O’Connor was chosen in the AIB senior club team of the year. That recognition for O’Connor was important to Geaney.
“It was great for him to get the award too because I was listening to some stuff over the winter that people didn't think that he was doing too well. I was like, 'Are you joking me?' We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Mark.”
Kerry captain Geaney won’t be involved in Sunday’s Division 1 final against Donegal but will be part of the training camp in Portugal next month after overcoming the calf injury that impacted his provincial and All-Ireland club campaign. So bad was the setback that he had spoken to manager Pádraic Corcoran the night before the final about not starting the game.
He mightn’t be part of Jack O’Connor’s plans but knows his team-mates are motivated. “I've yet to be in a Kerry dressing room that hasn't wanted to win the game that's in front of your face.
“Whether you say at the start of the year, you want to win the league or not, I think as a result of wanting to win all the games, I think you want to win the league ultimately – whether you say that outright or not.
“Maybe winning the league as a target isn't the main thing. It might be just the learnings and performances along the way. But if you put those things together then that means winning the league, hopefully. It's an underlying target maybe as such.
“Sunday is a big game in Croke Park and you want to win the big games. You don't want to be coming home licking your wounds after Sunday. You want to win the league.”
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