All-Ireland SFC Final Kerry v Cork:Kerry manager Pat O'Shea and his selectors have, as expected, made no changes ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland final against Cork to the side that defeated Dublin in last month's semi-final.
This means that for the bid to win the Sam Maguire back-to-back for the first time since Cork achieved the feat in 1990, centrefielder Darragh Ó Sé has been passed fit to play, despite the hip injury sustained in the semi-final. Ó Sé is bidding for a fifth medal and is the lone survivor from the team that 10 years ago won the county's first All-Ireland in 11 championships.
There is one minor adjustment with Paul Galvin, also recovered from a slight injury, being given the number 10 jersey instead of the number 12. In effect, this makes no difference because Galvin lined out on the right wing with Eoin Brosnan, listed at 12 for Sunday, playing on the left with captain Declan O'Sullivan retaining the centre forward role.
Speculation as to whether Galvin and Cork wing back Noel O'Leary might make a combustible pairing - both were involved in controversy in their respective semi-finals - may continue, but they aren't selected to mark each other.
In July's Munster final, when the counties last met, Galvin played on the left wing and was marked by O'Leary, who received a one-match suspension for being seen to kick Galvin when video evidence of the match was reviewed.
O'Sullivan is on course to become the first Kerry player to captain two All-Ireland winning teams since Joe Barrett in 1929 and '32. If Kerry win he will also be the first player since the legendary Dick Fitzgerald, after whom Fitzgerald Stadium is named, who captained the successful 1913 and '14 teams, to captain back-to-back winning Kerry teams.
Kerry's side includes four All-Ireland debutants, two at the back in defenders Pádraig Reidy and Killian Young, who line out at left corner back and left wing back respectively. Both started in the corner back positions for the 2004 All-Ireland minor final which Kerry lost to Tyrone.
They come in as two of a surprisingly large five changes from last year's final against Mayo. Reidy and Young replace the retired Michael McCarthy and Séamus Moynihan.
The other first-time starters in a senior final are centrefielder Séamus Scanlon and Bryan Sheehan, who came in for the semi-final in place of Michael Russell and holds his place. They replace Tommy Griffin and Russell from last year's final.
Griffin's season has been largely destroyed by injury, although he played an influential role when coming in for the injured Darragh Ó Sé for 40 minutes against Dublin.
The fifth change sees Eoin Brosnan start this year after being dropped 12 months ago, a move by then manager Jack O'Connor, which caused some controversy at the time.
Cork last night deferred naming their team until tomorrow because of last weekend's training-ground injury to Anthony Lynch. The player has been seeing a specialist in the hope of being able to play despite a broken bone in his hand.
In order to give him enough time to explore any possibilities of lining out on Sunday, the team announcement has been delayed.
Meanwhile, the Gaelic Players Association have announced a contribution of €15,000 to a mortgage would be awarded to the winner of their inaugural fair-play award.
This, in association with sponsors Halifax, is the GPA response to the numerous disciplinary problems that have afflicted the GAA championships this year.
"The genesis of this came from incidents like Semplegate," explained the GPA chief executive, Dessie Farrell. "But we felt the focus was on the wrong issues, like bureaucracy caused by disciplinary cases and subsequent appeals, with no discussion on the root causes in the first place. We hope to create a shift in emphasis with this scheme."
Finally, Des Dolan has been confirmed as the Leitrim senior football manager for 2008.
A county board statement said, "This will be Des's fourth season at the helm with Leitrim and we wish him the best of luck for the forthcoming season."
