“There is no greater privilege for a club than to nominate one of its own to be the Kerry Captain.”
As is the tradition in Kerry, the club that win the club county championship, nominate the captain for the county for the year head.
Austin Stacks were of course the winners in 2021, meaning that the power is in their hands, as they select the Kerry Captain from Stacks players who are on the panel.
They have chosen Joe O’Connor, the midfielder who was so crucial in getting their club to the Munster final this season.
O’Connor didn’t feature as prominently under Peter Keane in recent years, but with Kerry struggling to find a midfielder at the moment, and his captaincy in place, you would imagine that the Stacks man will feature heavily this year.
He is currently out with an injury but expected to return sooner rather than later, to help with The Kingdom’s midfield woes.
Kerry manager Jack O’Connor even resorted to moving Sean O’Shea back out to midfield in their first league game against Kildare, so the reintroduction of O’Connor would be a welcomed one.
Club Chairman Shane Lynch remarked that “there is no greater privilege for a club than to nominate one of its own to be the Kerry Captain.
“This is a very special moment for all in Austin Stacks and of course most especially for Joe, his parents Jim & Helen and family.
“Joe has developed into a natural leader on the pitch in the way he drives the team forward at critical moments and everyone on the Rock can’t wait to see Joe lead out the men in Green & Gold and drive the Kingdom on to glory this season.
“On behalf of all in the club, I would like to wish him, Dylan, Greg and Jack and all involved with the Kerry Senior Team the very best for the season ahead.”
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