Kobe is helping change the Mayo mindset ahead of All-Ireland final
Andy Moran believes Kerry’s tradition of revering the corner-forward is catching fire in Mayo
MAYO football followers have long revered flying half-backs and looked at those in the number five and seven jerseys in awe, while in Kerry the heroes at the other end of the field have deservedly been placed on lofty pedestals.
The Mayo mindset may now be changing according to Andy Moran. In a wide-ranging discussion at the team’s pre-final press conference the Ballaghaderreen man spoke about the change in thinking, which is allowing his side’s inside forwards play with freedom of expression.
You simply have to look at the way that Kobe McDonald and Darragh Beirne express themselves on the turf. A misplaced shot rarely seems to faze either. They put their shoulder to the wheel, try again, and conjure up a plethora of magic moments along the way, an admirable trait in Andy Moran’s mind.
“Football is like any other kind of trade,” their manager surmised. “You see (David) Clifford. He misses a penalty, scores a rebound, and gives it to The Hill. There's no part of me that dislikes that.
“I just love expression and fun and enjoyment within their football. If you go to a concert and you see your favourite bands and they're expressing themselves and they're enjoying themselves and they're putting a show out there, that's what sport and football and entertainment are about.
“The young fellas have really brought that to our group. Like, really brought it to our group. I'm not saying they have an abandonment to play within the system.
“Kobe, for example, would be the top assister on our team, but he plays with freedom. We watched the World Cup, and all the fellas that are lighting it up are playing with freedom.
The cornerstone of the great Mayo sides of the last decade and a half has been the roaming half-back.
However, the most heralded position in the Kingdom has always been one at the other end of the turf, according to Moran.
“There's a reason why most of our young players here in Mayo want to play number five or number seven. You get loads of ball, you get to run, it's all in front of you. That's the way we like to play football.
“But in Kerry, they revere the 13, and they revere the fella that comes around the corner and can kick the points, and they don't give out to him. They understand number 14 and 15, can be a tiny bit lazy, and he can be a tiny bit quirky and mavericky.
“We would have probably, in the past, looked down on that sort of person. But I think we're getting better at it. I think we, as a county, are getting better at it. Kerry just really revere that sort of player. And if that's the person you revere, it's like the number ten in Argentina.