A big crowd turned out at Fitzgerald Stadium in on Monday night for the homecoming of the Kerry minors. It's the fourth successive year that Kerry have had such a reception for the underage side.
David Clifford, who hails from just out the road in Fossa, was the hero for Kerry once again. It was Clifford's second All-Ireland minor title - it could have been three-in-a-row had he been allowed play in 2015.
The 18-year-old scored 4-4 as his side demolished Ulster champions Derry in the Sunday's Croke Park curtain raiser.
Already, there is a clamour for Clifford to play senior with Kerry next year. That is all based on the hope that an AFL club does not get its hands on the young prospect.
If he was to be part of the senior squad, it would mean he could not play with the Kerry U20s. Kerry U20 manager Jack O'Connor, speaking to Radio Kerry, said that he believes Clifford will pull on the green and gold for the Kingdom at senior level next year.
He has to get a go at it - there's no question about that. He'll be a loss to the U-20s obviously but I think the Kerry public might demand that he's promoted fairly quickly.
O'Connor may well end up managing Clifford at senior level in the near future. O'Connor's recent success as minor manager, winning All-Ireland titles in 2014 and 2015, along with already being a three-time All-Ireland winning manager at senior level, puts him in line as the most obvious successor to Eamonn Fitzmaurice.
The 56-year-old had little doubt that we will, at the very least, see Clifford in action for Kerry in the league next year.
He'll certainly get a cut at the league and if his trajectory keeps going upwards, he should be a big player for Kerry in the next couple of years.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
