Tommy Walsh of Kerins O’Rahillys, Kerry, pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Football Senior Club Championship Semi-Final, which takes place this Sunday, January 8th at Croke Park at 1.30pm.
By John Harrington
The big man on the edge of the square was once a staple of Gaelic football, but no more.
For most coaches, possession is now king, and so low percentage long deliveries into a target-man who will more often than not fail to make something of them is deemed a risk that simply doesn’t pay off enough.
Kerins O’Rahilly’s presence in Sunday’s AIB All-Ireland Club semi-final against Kilmacud Crokes will give some comfort though to traditionalists who love nothing more than a big man causing wreck on the edge of the square.
Former county star Tommy Walsh was the Kerry club’s key player during their successful Munster campaign, producing match-winning displays in both the semi-final against Éire Óg Ennis and Final against Newcastle West.
In those two games his ability to dominate the sky was a huge part of his team’s game-plan.
He scored a combined tally of 2-3 in the two one-point victories, including two marks, so not surprisingly he still believes there’s a time and a place in the modern game for a route one approach.
“There is, yeah,” says Walsh. “But I think it's having guys who are good enough to deliver the right sort of ball. I think the days of just turning around in the middle of the field and booting the ball in are gone, because more often than not that won't work, particularly with the way that defences are set up.
“But if you have players like David Moran and Jack Savage who can really deliver quality passes into the right areas then if you can get a yard or two on your man they can generally pick you out and it's up to me then to win it and I've really good players around me as well.
“So if I'm able to win it and lay it off to others or have an attempt myself then it's a tactic for us of course.”
Tommy Walsh of Kerins O'Rahillys scores his side's first goal despite the efforts of Aaron Fitzgerald, left, and Shane Daniels of Éire Óg Ennis during the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship Semi-Final match between Kerins O’Rahillys and Éire Óg Ennis at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Kerry.
It certainly helps when you have a baller like David Moran in the middle of the park who is arguably the best in the game at flighting in long passes with the outside of his boot.
Walsh and he are the best of friends and have been playing together all of their lives. So when Moran gets his head up Walsh knows exactly where to run in order to get on to those beautifully faded deliveries.
“I don't think there are too many guys around the place who can kick the ball like David can,” he says.
“As you say, I've been playing with him for most of my life and I'm very lucky to have him out the field and kicking the ball in to me.
“You always know that if you can get away from your man in the right spot that he'll generally pick you out and he can do that over a variety of distances as well. Other players might have to be within 40 yards of you but he can kick it over longer distances and deliver the same sort of quality ball.
“If he gets the ball in the middle of the field and gets his head up, it's a huge opportunity for our whole forward line. So hopefully he can give us a good platform again on Sunday.”
Walsh admits the club has been buzzing since winning their first ever Munster championship, but he’s not so sure that the pressure is off now and that Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final clash against a hotly fancied Kilmacud Crokes represents bonus territory.
“Yeah, look it, you could say we're in bonus territory but the reality is that a few guys on our team might never get to this stage of the competition again so we want to make the most of it,” he says.
“We have a real opportunity to go to Croke Park on Sunday. Yes, we're playing a really, really strong team who are favourites to win and deservedly so. But we have a lot of quality footballers on our team and if enough of them can strike form then we've a real chance.
“We're just focusing on ourselves, that's the most important thing because over the last couple of games a lot of our players haven't played to their potential. We've gotten over the line which is a good thing, but if we can play to our full potential the next day we feel like we'll be really strong.”
