‘Gooch’ Cooper’s return sharpens Paul Geaney’s hunger for battle

There is a good reason why the headline game on the opening weekend of the Allianz League is Kerry against Mayo.

Kerry extra-time defeat of Mayo at the Gaelic Grounds last August, in a replay, is widely regarded as the high point of the summer: not for Mayo, naturally, although as a contest it was unsurpassed, even by Kerry’s subsequent All-Ireland final win over Donegal.

For Kerry forward Paul Geaney – who hit four points in that replay, and a crucial 1-2 against Donegal in the All-Ireland final – it’s also the chance to lay down an early claim on his starting position.

With Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper back on board, and Tommy Walsh also back from the AFL, Geaney is justifiably wary of the heightened competition for places.

He’s also just excited about the prospect of playing.

Geaney missed Kerry’s heavy defeat to Mayo in the 2013 league, because of injury, and he didn’t start last year either, even though he was listed.

“Hopefully ready to go this time,” says Geaney, who will also line out today with UCC as they begin the defence of their Sigerson Cup.

“I’ve had a bit of bad luck in the league against Mayo, as I think I was listed to start in 2011, too, and that didn’t happen either.”

More important, he says, is Kerry’s need for a winning start – especially at home in Fitzgerald Stadium.

Kerry’s league record in recent years has not been great, and the last thing he or anyone else on the team wants is to end up in another relegation battle.

Rocked the boat

“The league has kind of rocked the boat a small bit in recent years, because we thought we were training well. And when we weren’t getting the results it kind of put a downer on it.

“Hopefully this year, we’ve got a better run of fixtures because we have more home games and we’ve Cork away, which is only just down the road as well.

“I think it might suit us a bit better.”

In the meantime, Geaney has one eye on the Sigerson Cup, a competition which he says served him extremely well in recent seasons.

He plays with UCC under former Cork manager Billy Morgan, and actually credits Morgan with helping to break onto the Kerry team.

“Billy would be in constant contact with the Kerry management down through my years there, and he was telling them how I was progressing, and gave me the chance to prove myself straight away. He’s certainly been very good to me, and after that Kerry have been good to me.”

This also helps explain why Geaney is happy to embrace both college and county commitments, especially given this is his last year with UCC.

“I find it grand. I counted up maybe 100 training sessions last year for 15 intercounty games. That doesn’t make sense. If you were playing more games it means you’re training less.

Shorten the season

“So I certainly think they can shorten the season a small bit, but as far as burnout goes, that’s more applicable to minor and under-21 players than it would be for senior players who are playing for the colleges.

“Like last year we had 12 weeks between the league and the championship. It was crazy, like two seasons. I don’t think it’s as bad this year, as there’s only three or four weeks in between the Allianz League and the championship.”

Kerry will be without footballer of the year James O’Donoghue for Sunday, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, although Geaney doesn’t expect the injury to hold him back for long.

“He popped his shoulder at minor level and did it again at under-21 and he missed big games for us. He’s gone on now and he’s player of the year and he 100 per cent deserves it. I’m delighted for him and it gives me confidence to push on.”