Kerry ready to brush aside Waterford and book their place in the Munster final

Eamonn Fitzmaurice had to think of something interesting to say before this, and his concern about limited sideline access for his selectors is probably genuine enough. But Kerry could probably win it blind-folded, one-hand tied behind their backs, etc etc.

Though he has gone with the same 15 that started against Tipperary last week, Fitzmaurice’s insistence that players are going to have to earn their jerseys means no one will want to let up. If the 2-19 they racked up last Sunday is anything to go by then the final scoreboard here will not be pretty.

If anything Kerry will be stronger than six days ago: Jonathan Lyne and Shane Enright have been added to the substitutes after recovering from injuries and team captain Eoin Brosnan, also recovering from injury, is likely to be sprung from the bench.

With Bryan Sheehan, Darran O’Sullivan and Kieran O’Leary also fighting for starting places this has the makings of a good old championship slaughter.

New Waterford manager Niall Carew has been improving their defensive record, or at least trying to, and the return of full forward Gary Hurney, who has recovered from a knee injury, has the potential to unsettle Kerry’s defence, or at least a little more than Tipperary did.

The reality is Waterford haven’t come close to beating Kerry since the famous Walsh Park win of 56 years ago.

On top of that Kerry’s recent championship record in Fitzgerald Stadium is impeccable, and there’s no way they’ll slip up on that here.

Look out for Colm “Gooch” Cooper’s 250th point in senior championship football, as his career tally currently stands on 19 goals and 249 points.

Then after two games in six days, comes the 36-day wait until the Munster final, on July 7th – and with that the start of their championship proper.