Friday's Munster derby had the potential to be spicier than usual, following the Markets Field side's mid-season swoop for former Kerry players, but with Jack Kavanagh barely featuring at all, and Tryp Vrljcak only making an impression in the recent cup thrashing of Pike Rovers, Steven Healy is the one signing who can be considered to be an unqualified success for the neighbours. For a local rivalry to develop, there has to be an element of jeopardy when the teams clash, and while the Limerick side's 2023 H2H record was too pronounced for that to develop, the 2024 results have been precisely balanced, with a win, draw and loss apiece in the previous league outings (we'll discount the MSC game given an Academy/Reserve team was involved), and with neither team in outstanding form, Friday's encounter should, to pardon the cliché, be delicately poised. The major question for Kerry, as we saw last week, is who will provide the attacking threat when Kelliher is either closely marked or out of the game, and it's certainly time for the rest of the squad to pull their weight in that regard. With no new injury concerns, and Andy Spain fit again, Conor McCarthy appears to have a full squad from which to choose, so there appears no reason why Kerry shouldn't be targeting at least a draw on Friday, even if Treaty will have more than a point to prove after the Bray game!
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