Injuries offer Kerry opportunities for others to shine
Despite an injury list that contains more names than Kerry manager Jack O'Connor would care for, the Kingdom are raging hot favourites to account for Clare this weekend in the Munster SFC.
Aside from the Covid knockout championship of 2020, the last time Kerry failed to reach the Munster decider was 2012. Few are expecting that to change on Saturday, but a list of those who may not feature for the Kingdom could give the hosts a little more belief.
Joe O’Connor and Shane Ryan are out, while Sean O’Shea, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Seán O’Brien, Paudie Clifford and Gavin White are all regarded as doubtful.
Diarmuid O’Connor and the aforementioned White are well short of football even if they have resumed training, so it means the likes of Armin Heinrich, Keith Evans and Cillian Trant, who featured regularly across the league, are in line for starting berths.
Austin Stacks defender Heinrich featured once in both the 2024 and 2025 championships, but started all eight of Kerry's Division 1 games in a campaign that ended in a sobering defeat to Donegal at Croke Park.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Kerry captain and manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice said that last year’s All-Ireland-winning campaign demonstrated that when an injury offers a squad player a chance to shine, it can be grasped to great effect.
"There are rumours that Seán O’Shea and Joe O’Connor might be out, and other fellas carrying knocks," he said.
"The likes of Gavin White and Diarmuid O’Connor have played very little football and are not up to full speed I would say.
"Last summer Kerry had injuries at different times, because of that, Mark O’Shea and Sean O’Brien in particular got opportunities they might not have gotten if others had stayed fit.
"They really grabbed their opportunities, held on to their positions and were central to Kerry winning the All-Ireland last year.
"It will be a similar approach for anyone getting an opportunity at the weekend. If you have a jersey and are playing well, it is hard to shift you out of it, regardless of personnel waiting in the background."
Most punters are expecting a traditional Munster final in a fortnight, with Cork favourites to see off Tipperary on the other side of the draw.
Fitzmaurice feels the Banner are too reliant on Mark McInerney (above), Eoin Cleary and Aaron Griffin for scores, while a sixth-place finish Division 3 campaign doesn’t give the hosts much momentum coming into the daunting fixture.
"Traditionally we have always found it tricky above in Ennis, a few tight battles there," he said. "They won’t be taking it for granted, but after a good league – outside of the final – and with Clare having a tougher league, I’d be expecting Kerry to win with a performance full of energy."
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