TEAM NEWS:HOLDERS AND All-Ireland champions Cork will start the defence of their NFL title on Sunday in Tralee against Kerry with 10 of the team that beat Down in last September's All-Ireland final.
Unavailable are goalkeeper Alan Quirke, Michael Shields, Graham Canty, Paudie Kissane, Ciarán Sheehan and Paul Kerrigan and they are replaced by Kenneth O’Halloran, Jamie O’Sullivan, Conor O’Driscoll, Fintan Goold and Colm O’Neill.
All of the replacements, except O’Halloran, were on last year’s All-Ireland winning panel.
Kerry bring in some of the players who impressed in last week’s McGrath Cup final. Legion pair Pádraig O’Connor and Jonathan Lyne come in on the left flank of the defence and up front David Geaney, who kicked six points from play, is named at corner forward.
Manager Jack O’Connor is missing a number of first-choice names. Tom O’Sullivan, Killian Young and Tommy Griffin are missing from the defence and up front the team is without Declan O’Sullivan and Colm Cooper, whose club season with Dr Crokes ended just last week although his colleagues in the Killarney club’s attack, Kieran O’Leary and Daithi Casey are named on the bench..
Galway’s opening match with Monaghan in Inishkeen sees Tomás Ó Flatharta’s team starting 10 of the side dismissed from last year’s championship by Wexford.
Corofin’s Kieran McGrath makes his debut while Eddie Hoare from St Michael’s is named at centrefield and Cormac Bane, Cillin De Paor and Niall Coyne are recalled to the starting 15.
Tyrone begin their Division Two campaign against Derry with an experienced team, 10 of whom played in the county’s most recent All-Ireland triumph, three years ago. Stephen O’Neill, who opened the county’s NFL campaign this weekend two years ago so spectacularly under lights in Croke Park, lines out at full forward. The county’s other former Footballer of the Year Seán Cavanagh starts on the wing.
Meanwhile, Seo Spóirt returns to the screens of TG4 this evening at 8.30pm for its fifth series. Presented by former Kerry All-Ireland winning captain Dara Ó Cinnéide, who is joined by Seán Bán Breathnach and Gemma Ni Chionnaith, its first programme focuses on the start of both the Six Nations rugby championship and the GAA season. Studio guests will include Ger Loughnane, Darragh Ó Sé, John Allen, Ray Silke, Tomás Ó Flatharta, Kevin Cassidy, Paul Galvin, Donal O’Grady, Charlie Vernon.
CORK (NFL v Kerry):K O'Halloran; R Carey, J O'Sullivan, E Cadogan; C O'Driscoll, J Miskella, N O'Leary; A O'Connor, A Walsh; P Kelly, P O'Neill, F Goold; D Goulding, D O'Connor, C O'Neill.
KERRY:B Kealy; P Reidy, M Ó Sé, P O'Connor; A O'Mahony, T Ó Sé, J Lyne; A Maher, D Moran; BJ Keane, Darran O'Sullivan, D Walsh; BJ Walsh, K Donaghy, D Geaney.
ARMAGH (NFL v Dublin);P McEvoy; V Martin, B Donaghy, A Mallon; K Dyas, K McKeever, P Duffy; K Toner, J Lavery; R Grugan, BJ Padden, C Vernon; B Mallon, G Swift, S McDonnell.
GALWAY (NFL v Monaghan): A Faherty; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, K McGrath; G O'Donnell, N Coyne, A Burke; G Bradshaw, E Hoare; J Bergin, C Bane, G Sice; M Clancy, C De Paor, S Armstrong.
TYRONE (NFL v Derry):P McConnell; D Carlin, C McCarron, D McCaul; D Harte, C Gormley, R McMenamin; K Hughes, A Cassidy; P Harte, B McGuigan, S Cavanagh; M Penrose, S O'Neill, E McGinley.
CORK (SH v Waterford):M Coleman; P O'Leary, C Fogarty, S Murphy; C Joyce, M Ellis, R Ryan; G Callinan, B Lawton; T Murray, B Cooper, C Lehane; J Coughlan, E Murphy, B Hartnett.
