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Gavin O’Connor previews the Garveys Super Valu Kerry SFC Round 3, Austin Stacks v Dr Crokes tie at Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday…
AUSTIN Stacks face Dr Crokes this Sunday in what is unquestionably, the game of the championship so far.
The Tralee and Killarney sides have a nice rivalry cooking at the moment and would have preferred to have built up a head of steam before facing each other.
Austin Stacks will be without forward, David Mannix against Dr Crokes. Photo by Dermot Crean.
The last time the two faced each other in Fitzgerald Stadium, Crokes swatted away The Rock with a 17 point hammering in 2013 county final. Austin Stacks flung that monkey off their back last May in the county league final, highlighting the gains made by Stephen Stack and his side in the space of a year and a half.
The two supremos in the county over the last couple of years will go into the match with plenty of question marks around them. Austin Stacks will be coming in relatively untested following a convincing win over St Michael’s Foilmore.
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Crokes meanwhile will be looking to avoid back to back defeats after losing to Dingle in the Club Championship final last weekend.
The team news is both sides will be without a key forward. For The Rock, David Mannix is sidelined. Kieran O’Leary has been out with a long-term injury and the Crokes reportedly struggled without his scoring threat last weekend against Dingle.
Corner back, Ronan Shanahan is another Rockie absentee, although Jack Morgan, fresh from winning an All-Ireland minor title with Kerry is expected to slip straight into that position, highlighting the depth at their disposal in Connolly Park.
Like in the County League Final, Shane Carroll’s performance could be pivotal. Photo by Dermot Crean.
The Rock’s summer prodigal sons have returned from America, Wayne Guthrie and Greg Horan can be expected to resume their dynamic partnership in midfield.
Since Darragh O’Brien departed for the US the number one jersey has been an issue. His return, along with former Kerry minor defender, Conor Jordan, will shore up The Rock’s dogged defence – the hallmark of their run to the All-Ireland semi-final in 2014/15.
Crokes loss to Dingle last week has fuelled talk that the 2013 champions could be a fading power in Kerry football. Guys like Eoin Brosnan and Ambrose O’Donovan do have miles on the clock so Johnny Buckley will be vital to stop a more youthful Stacks midfield grabbing hold of the match around the halfway.
Shane Carroll was man of the match in the county league final, pitching in with two magnificent long range points in extra-time to pull his side over the line.
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See the county league final highlights here from ‘Sideline Eye’ productions…
The looming threat of the Gooch is ever present, but the great man has struggled to regain form for club and county since returning from injury. Whatever his form, Cooper, will always have a major bearing on the outcome of the match.
You get the feeling – as in the league final – Austin Stacks will be looking to keep it tight. They may have improved vastly since the 2013 final, but going toe to toe with the Crokes as they did in that final still might not be the best way to approach a side which can play the ball so quickly and effortlessly.
Kieran Donaghy proved decisive in the league final with two goals and and winning a penalty resulting directly from long balls into the full-forward line. Hard to bet against him causing the same havoc again.
The result of the game will hinge so much on how much of an impact Guthrie, Horan and Carroll have around the middle.
Their dynamism could cause Crokes the world of trouble and if they’re up to speed, the Rock should triumph.
Verdict – Austin Stacks by 3
Throw-in 3.30pm
