The gaping hole left by the absence of Darragh O Sé and ongoing disciplinary problems could leave Kerry drastically weakened for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, says JOE columnist Ciaran Whelan.
Kerry survived a spirited second half fightback from Limerick to lift their first Munster football title in three years on Sunday afternoon.
The defending All-Ireland champions are the first side to book their place in the last eight of this year’s competition, but Whelan believes they could face a major test in the quarter-finals – regardless of the opposition.
In this week’s Gaelic football column for JOE, the former Dublin star wrote, “There are a few worrying things for [Kerry], most notably at midfield where they’re really missing Darragh O Sé.
“Micheál Quirke made a big difference when he came in against Limerick, winning some primary possession at the end of the first half and the start of the second, but he just doesn’t have 70 minutes in him. He’s an impact sub and he generally comes in and does a job but he doesn’t have the mobility to play a whole game.
“When it comes to midfield, it’s not just about the two players wearing 8 and 9. It all depends on your middle eight, taking into account your half-back and half-forward lines as well … But they’re not going to have Paul Galvin for an All-Ireland quarter-final because he’s suspended, and while I don’t want to pre-empt anything there has to be a possibility that Tomás O Sé will go the same way after video evidence from the Limerick game is taken into account.
“If that happens they’d be without Galvin and O Sé on top of the four players they’ve lost from last year, so taking that into account the All-Ireland quarter-final, against whoever it may be, could be Kerry’s biggest game all year.â€
For Ciaran Whelan’s full column, in which he also talks about a possible breakthrough for one of the so-called weaker counties, click here.
