TOWERING midfielder Brian Kennedy insists Tyrone’s Championship will effectively get under way when they bid to avoid relegation from Division One on Sunday.
Dessie Farrell’s Dublin are right in the mix for a League final spot as they travel to Omagh but, at the other end of the table, the Red Hands need a win – and for other results to go in their favour – to have any chance of dropping with Derry.
Tyrone captain Kennedy and Dublin’s Greg McEneaney were on cordial terms during an Allianz NFL media briefing at the Carrickdale Hotel on Wednesday, but it will be all business at O’Neills Healy Park as Malachy O’Rourke’s men seek to carry on momentum from last weekend’s win in Donegal.
“It’s basically a Championship match for us – it’s knock-out,” said the 2021 All-Star.
“A win is probably the only result that will do anything for us. We know the challenge, watching Dublin all through the League, they’ve ground out results and they’ve put teams away easy as well, so they have serious quality.
“We’re going to have to up it another few gears from the performances over this past number of weeks to hopefully get out on top there.
“They’re lightning in attack and they’re very solid going back as well in defence. I watched their game against Galway at the weekend and everything seemed fluid, they were nearly getting a score every attack.
“They seem to have players to slot in everywhere and the older heads like [Ciaran] Kilkenny and [Stephen] Cluxton coming in to keep the whole thing grounded and a bit of routine in it.”
The continued evolution of the rules brought forward by the Football Review Committee (FRC) – of which Tyrone boss O’Rourke was a part – saw some altered for the final weeks of the League.
One of the most significant tweaks prevented goalkeepers from going forward to create 12-v-11 mismatches in the opposition half but, typically, the likes of Niall Morgan and Monaghan’s Rory Beggan still had a huge influence when roaming out the field.
And Kennedy feels that, no matter what way the game changes, Morgan will always find a way to thrive.
“You want him to be able to come up and add to the game - he’ll still definitely find a way to do that no matter what sort of rules are changed, I think,” said the Derrylaughan man.
“He’s the type of player that all outfield players have a lot of faith in, to go up and take the role for a couple of plays and be an attacking outlet as well. Then on the kick-outs, from a defensive point of view, just being in that back line, he’s massive as well… he just gives you that wee bit of extra cover.
“He’s the sort of player that’s dynamic enough that he can adjust to any sort of situation or rules that are put in place, and we’re definitely glad to have him.”
The new rules have seen midfield become a battleground again too, with kick-outs having to cross the 40 metre arc.
And Kennedy admits he is relishing the high octane action.
“It’s fairly turned the volume up - every kick out is going long and being contested, so it’s about developing that part of your game, break ball or clean possession is a massive platform for getting scores in games.
“Most of the kick out stats are 50-50 down the middle so if a team can get a good foothold in that position, it sort of gives them a good footing going forward in the game.
“It’s not just as easy as putting it out to the big men and let them have the nice high fielding that everybody thinks; there’s a lot of off the ball holding and maybe bumping, but whenever the game opens up, it will allow for those sort of opportunities and it is good to see.”
