Kerry’s work ethic isn’t in question but hard work isn’t enough anymore

From the moment Killian Spillane kicked the score to put Kerry one up in the 66th minute of the drawn game, any candid analysis of the last 10 minutes doesn’t reflect well on the Munster champions.

As gallant as their performance had been up to that point, Dublin dominated from there on in, even with a man down.

Very similar to the league game in Tralee, Dublin’s 14 powerhouses repeatedly took the ball back from Kerry’s 15 tired bodies and rifled through them. If this final 10 was a game within a game, it was no contest.

Most tellingly, it wasn’t through their own kick out that Dublin took possession — Kerry didn’t even have a shot at the Dublin goal in the last 10 minutes.

Nor was it through the opposition kick-out — Kerry won all four of their own restarts in that spell. It wasn’t even that Kerry gave the ball away, as Kerry tend not to do. It was all down to the highest currency at the top of the inter-county game: the turnover tackle.

Many have called out the isolated incident of David Moran taking the ball into contact and getting dispossessed. However, this turnover wasn’t in fact isolated.

It is indeed an oversimplification to attribute the leveling of the game to a player who produced big time for Kerry on the day.

The trend however was undeniable:

• 66.04: After Spillane’s score and even on a slow restart (18 seconds versus his usual 7), Cluxton finds David Byrne free on a short kick out. Byrne solos out from the back through two poor tackles (Tommy Walsh and Sean O’Shea).
• 67.00: Under the Hogan stand, Clifford makes an earnest but tired tackle, which allowed Howard to easily step inside him for a shot (wide).
• 69:17 Jack McCaffreydispossesses Paul Murphy in the tackle, resulting in Cormac Costello shot (wide on hawkeye).
• 70.44: David Byrne dispossesses Geaney in a 1v1 tackle that results in long-range but kickable Connolly effort from the outside of his boot (wide). In-between, Kerry had a prime 3v1 gang tackle opportunity to turn Kevin McMenamin over but didn’t execute.
• 73.18: Davy Byrne and Kevin McManamon dispossess David Moran in the aforementioned incident, which led up to equaliser from Dean Rock.
• 74.10: After the equaliser, McCaffrey, Fenton, and Fitzsimons dispossess Sean O’Shea in the tackle on the very next play. McManamon glides around Jonathan Lyne, which leads to a shot by John Small (drops short).
• 75.39: Connolly dispossesses Jonathan Lyne in a 1v1 tackle. This leads to the last act of the game, where Seanie O’Shea puts in a very tired tackle on John Small for the final free (wide).

In summary, and in a 14 v 15 scenario, Dublin had six shots to Kerry’s zero. Dublin turned Kerry over five times in the tackle whereas Kerry didn’t manage to turn Dublin over once. Simply put, Dublin’s far superior conditioning and their greater tackling ability separated the teams in that clutch period.

This s not a new problem for Kerry. Over the past few years, its clear they have focused on working harder and getting more tackles from their forwards. The work rate has been admirable but the tackling has been poor.

Last year, before the Kerry versus Clare championship game in Killarney, Kerry ran a warm-up drill into the town end goal in Killarney.

It appeared to focus on forwards switching gear into tackling mode as soon as they lost the ball.

You all know the one. Three forwards run the ball in from the 45 against three defenders who are coming out from the end line to meet them.

If the defenders win the ball, then forwards must instantly switch into defender/tackler mode to win the ball back.

What was noticeable in Killarney that day was less the tackle back by the forwards and moreso the emphasis that was being placed on simply stopping the defender coming out at all costs.

Once the defender was held up by any means necessary, the drill ended. Clifford, Geaney, O’Shea, O’Brien had no problem switching rapidly into defence mode but it was more fouling than tackling.

This continued emphasis has become problematic for them in the black card era.

In their run to the 2012 All-Ireland final, Donegal used to run this same drill in their warm ups.

However, the Donegal forwards were excellent at not just switching into tackling mode but at doing so legally and even dispossessing the man coming out.

Different emphasis and different skill-set.

This difference in what gets valued in Kerry and therefore what gets practised stands to reason. Take a supreme ability of Kerry forwards to kick a point. A real craftsman mindset is everywhere to be seen.

Newspapers have been littered with misty-eyed stories of Bryan Sheehan kicking the ball back to Maurice Fitzgerald. About Sean O’Shea and David Clifford spending hours and hours down the local pitch or in the back garden, kicking the ball, honing their craft.

Unfortunately, in the modern game, elite level conditioning and disciplined tackling developed over a number of years have taken on far greater importance in terms of winning All-Irelands.

To quote a well known GAA sage, that’s not a criticism, that’s just a fact of life.

The Kerry work ethic here is not in question, but hard work isn’t enough anymore. Every top team works hard.

The unfortunate reality is that the Kerry forward six are are more likely to foul than defend. What’s more is that they can be easy pickings on short kickouts if they can’t get numbers up to support them from behind.

For example, if a short kickout goes to the opposition man being marked by the most talented Kerry forward of them all, David Clifford, then its more or less a free run out for that corner back and an overlap up the field.

This is difficult to reconcile for such a once in a generation player (ball in hand) but it’s a reality that needs to be seriously considered for Kerry in man on man games.

Kerry usually don’t take long to cotton on to weaknesses exposed in their teams. But a winter or two is probably required here on both the conditioning and the tackling front.

They are unlikely to have cultivated this craft in two weeks.