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Why Kerry’s midfielder shortage will have Jack O’Connor’s attention for league run-in

Donnchadh Boyle

Finding a centrefield partner for Jack Barry will be a worry for Kerry ahead of key league games against Roscommon and Galway. Photo: Sportsfile

Finding a centrefield partner for Jack Barry will be a worry for Kerry ahead of key league games against Roscommon and Galway. Photo: Sportsfile

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor

Finding a centrefield partner for Jack Barry will be a worry for Kerry ahead of key league games against Roscommon and Galway. Photo: Sportsfile

March 10 2023 02:30 AM

The irony won’t have been lost on Kerry people that on the week yet another of their midfield options was headed for a spell on the treatment table, their recently-retired totem in that area picked up an award for his displays.

Stefan Okunbor has seen only limited action with Kerry since his return from the AFL. Injury and condensed seasons have combined to keep him largely out of the action. But this year he has started against Armagh in Tralee and again in Tyrone last weekend. And he showed what he can offer before pulling up with a hamstring injury to add to Jack O’Connor’s headaches.

Then last Wednesday week, the club football team of the year was announced, with David Moran chosen at centrefield. Moran had lorded the skies as his Kerins O’Rahillys side pushed All-Ireland champions Kilmacud Crokes hard in their semi-final clash. And he was rewarded for his efforts with a club All-Star.

Moran is no longer an option for Kerry, opting to step away after winning three All-Irelands across three decades, despite a number of serious injuries.

And his decision to retire left Jack O’Connor to ponder what his midfield partnership for their All-Ireland defence would be. With Moran’s departure, Jack Barry is the senior man there now. But finding his most suitable foil has proven more difficult than might have been expected – as options have been unavailable.

Diarmuid O’Connor might have been most expected to fill that void but he damaged his ankle in a McGrath Cup game in January, and has yet to return to the match-day squad.

On the basis of last year’s All-Ireland final, when he featured off the bench, Joe O’Connor would also have been close to the front of the thoughts of the Kerry manager.

He was Kerry’s 2022 captain after Austin Stacks won the county championship the previous season – and featured off the bench in four of their five championship games.

But on the same day that Moran produced his brilliant Croke Park performance, Joe O’Connor’s knee gave way beneath him, effectively wiping out his 2023 county season, and removing him as an option for Kerry management.

Okunbor is also in contention but Jack O’Connor has had to be patient. Earlier this year Okunbor spoke at length about the injury frustrations he endured during his spell in the AFL, calculating that he spent twice as much time in on the treatment table as he did on the field.

That bad luck seems to have followed him home with a dislocated shoulder, sustained on club duty, ruining much of his 2022 Kerry campaign. He offers a range of options to Kerry, having tracked Rian O’Neill for long periods against Armagh, and operating in the middle last weekend.

His hamstring gave way midway through the second half – and it remains to be seen if he will be ready to face Roscommon and Galway in their run-in.

There are other options. Adrian Spillane has moved between wing-forward and centrefield, but picked up a calf injury in the Armagh game.

Ronan Buckley and Greg Horan – who came on against Tyrone – are also available.

It has meant that the recalled Barry Dan O’Sullivan has been Kerry’s choice alongside Barry. O’Sullivan played for Kerry as early as 2016 but has been in and out of the set-up since. And he is yet to play a minute of championship football for the Kingdom.

His football CV is strong as he’s a Sigerson Cup winner with UCD, and has played under O’Connor at age-grade level. He also holds an All-Ireland U-21 ‘B’ hurling medal – an unusual honour to be bestowed on a Dingle man.

He missed the defeat to Armagh with illness but looks most likely to start for Kerry in their final two games, where they’ll likely need to pick up at least one win to ensure their Division 1 status.

O’Connor knows the engine room is in need of some new oil for the summer – the option he chooses will have a big bearing on his team’s Sam Maguire defence.

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Why Kerry’s midfielder shortage will have Jack O’Connor’s attention for league run-in

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