Tony Leen
INTERESTING that the chattering classes are divided over whether the only Cork player with Championship minutes in the tank this season is ready to start for the Rebel footballers in Killarney against Kerry on Sunday. Eoin Cadogan proved quickly and emphatically last Sunday in Páirc Ui Chaoimh that his enforced period of inactivity had not blunted his competitive edge - but whether his football eye is in is a moot point.
The Douglas man only returned to collective training with the county on Tuesday night, but depending on the job he is tasked with Sunday, that might not be a problem. I say that because if Conor Counihan gambles - and it is a gamble of sorts - and throws him into the edge of the square on Kieran Donaghy, his limited exposure to football's nuances may not be exposed. That will be a battle of strength and power, of aerial prowess too, and Cadogan is well stocked in all those departments. However, playing him in the half back line, as I've seen suggested is a greater risk. Counihan's gameplan is certainly compromised somewhat by injuries to Anthony Lynch and John Miskella, and the amount of time Graham Canty has been out of action. I'm sure it's the reason Aidan Walsh was withdrawn at the eleventh hour from the Under 21 hurlers tonight.
If Cadogan starts at No 3, there's a possibility that Canty will play alongside Michael Shields and Noel O'Leary in the half back line. But alongside all this chess-playing, there is another key factor to be debated: who marks Colm Cooper? Lynch has had limited success on the Kerry sorcerer in the past, but on the basis that he is not ready for a start, it's a seriously big ask for Cadogan's Douglas colleague Eoin Cotter. Maybe Ray Carey will be shunted across the full back line, but it's an unwelcome state of chassis for the Cork defence to be in approaching the biggest game of the season so far.
I expect Pearse O'Neill and Alan O'Connor to pair up in midfield, and it looks like Fintan Goold will join Kelly, O'Connor, Goulding, O'Neill and Kerrigan in attack.
The theory that such a Cork midfield would have too much legs in it for Mike Quirke is a fair one, but I don't see anyone shoving him out of the starting fifteen in Kerry. Anthony Maher and David Moran (I think he will end up a wing forward) have yet to force Jack O'Connor into a change of plan, but there is no doubt that Kerry's midfield looks vulnerable. If they can get fifty minutes out of Scanlon and Quirke as a partnership, and hold their own, that's a big result.
The biggest issue for Kerry however is the ankle injury to Paul Galvin, picked up a fortnight ago. He was trodden on in training and damaged ligaments on the inside of the foot. He will be named for Sunday, but there's every chance Darran O'Sullivan will start in his stead. O'Sullivan has many attributes, some that even Galvin doesn't possess, but he doesn't bring Galvin's leadership, his strut, to the table. And it's not that the 2010 green and gold vintage is overburdened with leaders - despite what they tell us. If the Finuge man doesn't start, it's significant enough to tip the balance the way of the reigning Munster champions. The teams will be announced Thursday night, but at this stage, very few greet them at face value.
These are the teams I suspect will start Sunday in Killarney - though maybe not in the assigned positions.
KERRY: B. Kealy; M Ó Sé, T Griffin, T. O'Sullivan; T. Ó Sé, M. McCarthy, K. Young; S Scanlon, M. Quirke; Darran O'Sullivan, Declan O'Sullivan, D. Walsh; C. Cooper, K. Donaghy, B. Sheehan.
CORK: A. Quirke; E. Cotter, E. Cadogan, R. Carey; M. Shields, G. Canty, N. O'Leary; P. O'Neill, A. O'Connor; F. Goold, D. O'Connor, P. Kelly; D. Goulding, C. O'Neill, P. Kerrigan.
