They tried it in the league. It didn’t work.
They tried it on Sunday… whether it worked or not is up for serious debate.
A late change in the Kerry team told you everything you needed to know. Anthony Maher was coming in for James O’Donoghue and it left no other place for Kieran Donaghy to go. The Stacks giant was going up top and the Kingdom were going to test the capital’s aerial defence. Again.
It’s almost been a viral myth doing the rounds this summer. Rory O’Carroll’s absence from the Dublin full back line has left question marks over their ability to deal with the high ball. They might be suspect in the air was the school of thought but, when it was actually thought about, they had no problems with it in the league final.
Kerry's persistence in lumping aimless high balls to Donaghy was an insult to Dublin's defenders | @ConanDoherty https://t.co/DzE5ndUOmS
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 25, 2016
Still, Kerry came with the same idea. They’d stretch the Dublin back line and, whilst Star might not have dominated the skies, Paul Geaney and Colm Cooper certainly thrived off the scraps and space they were being offered, however they were being offered.
But on The GAA Hour podcast, Kerry’s tactics were debated heavily and the panel, including Colm Parkinson, Barry Cahill and Senan Connell had very differing opinions on the matter.
Listen from 30:00 for the high ball discussion.
The GAA Hour is out every Monday and Thursday. Subscribe here on iTunes.
