Gaelic Games: Kerry’s Success Rooted In Experience, Says White

Kerry captain Gavin White felt his team’s big-game experience was a factor in their flying start to Sunday’s 1-26 to 0-19 All-Ireland Football final victory over Donegal.

The Kingdom flew out of the traps and had laid the foundations when leading by eight points after 15 minutes as they attacked the Ulster champions in waves.

White made an immediate impact when sprinting on to a loose ball from a throw-in and feeding Dylan Geaney for a score which set the the tone.

The Dr Croke’s clubman contributed three points in a man-of-the-match performance as Kerry banished the memories of their 2023 final defeat by Dublin to secure title number 39 for the county.

“I think we went out in the first 15 minutes to make our experience count and made an unbelievable start,” he told the GAA Social Live, after the final whistle.

“You want to get your hands on the ball as soon as you can It was an ambition to set the tempo from get-go and that started with the throw-in.”

Kerry’s dominance around the middle was also crucial to their win as they were sharp to the breaks and won the kick-out battle.

With the new rules of Gaelic football taking hold this year, restarts have proven to be a crucial area with goalkeepers going long more often.

This was an area where Kerry struggled in their group stage defeat by Meath, but improved upon greatly in the games since.

“If you can win your share of breaking ball, you’ll have most of the possession and more attacks,” White said.

“That’s something we’ve looked at the last couple of days because against Meath in Tullamore, we were wiped out.”

White was speaking just minutes after lifting Sam Maguire on behalf of his county and admitted he was “very emotional”.

The half-back was captain in 2019 when Kerry lost in the final to Dublin after a replay, so it was a special moment for the Killarney man but one he felt could have been filled by a number of players who he praised for their leadership.

“You could put an armband on anyone out there as there are serious leaders – it’s difficult to put it into words,” he added.

“To captain an All-Ireland team is highly special and I’m not sure it will sink in for a number of days. Maybe one day when I hang up the boots, I may only then look back at the magnitude of it. I’m incredibly proud of the boys.”

Bbc.com