Kerry drag the GAA into 2017 with epic team announcement against new-look Donegal

And what an interesting team it is too

Conan Doherty

Kerry drag the GAA into 2017 with epic team announcement against new-look Donegal

Forever the pioneers down in Kerry.

They might not have won a league title since 2009 but there’s a feeling that this year they won’t be preparing solely for championship. There’s a feeling that they might be ready to give the league a right, royal rattle.

In an interview with SportsJOE’s GAA Hour podcast, Paul Geaney spoke about how things are a little different for 2017 with Kerry setting up base in Austin Stacks.

“We’d have been struggling for pitches before and I’m not making excuses but football, skills is where it’s important – especially in close games, you need to be nailing scores when fitness isn’t where it should be,” the full forward explained.

“We have a better training schedule in Stacks Park – the ground is good there and we’re playing better football there. It’s bringing what we would’ve done later in the year going into the hard ground – it’s bringing it forward a bit.”

Fighting talk https://t.co/RpFnrNjxeL

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 3, 2017

And it’s all different on the social media front too.

For their team announcement, the Kingdom released a video of the press conference and coupled it with some funky graphics that wouldn’t look out of place on Sky Sports. We’ll not be happy until we see a Jimmy Bullard style player profile though.

Kerry prepare to take on Donegal in Letterkenny on Sunday and have gone for a side that boasts three players making their full league debuts for the county.

National Football League Division 1https://t.co/35J7QqNceW pic.twitter.com/jyDME37iCd

— Kerry GAA (@Kerry_Official) February 3, 2017

Jason Foley, who is lined out at corner back, has won two All-Ireland minor medals in 2014 and 2015 and was joined by wing back Tom O’Sullivan for the first of those. The Dingle man also happens to have two Hogan Cup titles to his name too.

The third debutant is Jack Savage who featured in the McGrath Cup-winning Kerry side and is selected alongside Geaney and James O’Donoghue in the full forward line.

The presentation of the team announcement is fantastic though and it’s full of useful information.

Whilst Kerry boast 11 players that featured in their 2016 championship semi-final defeat to Dublin, their opponents for the league opener have just six starters back in the line-up from the team that started in their quarter-final defeat to Dublin last year.

Donegal team that faces Kerry in the Allianz Football League on Sunday the 5th Feb in O Donnell Park Letterkenny. Tickets on Donegalgaa.ie pic.twitter.com/NOYFFp7OWQ

— CLG Dhún na nGall (@officialdonegal) February 3, 2017

Donegal aren’t exactly lacking in young talent though and the inclusion of big Jason McGee in the middle of the park for Rory Gallagher’s men is intriguing.

Ahead of the new season, last year’s minor captain was singled out by SportsJOE as a wildcard who could light up the championship.

‘The talented midfielder has been a giant for Donegal minors in the last two years,’ the piece read.

‘He led from the front in 2016 as he dragged them back to Ulster glory, hitting the net in the semi-final before doing the same in the All-Ireland quarters to guide the county into the last four.

‘He’s a big man, he can fetch a ball and by God he can gallop forward with it. He’s been included in the Donegal McKenna Cup panel straight away. He can make an impact straight away.’