The 16th Man

New Galway manager Alan Mulholland has selected his team for Sunday’s Allianz Football League Division 2 encounter with Derry at Celtic Park (throw-in 2.30pm).

Goalkeeper Manus Breathnach, corner back Keith Kelly and forwards Mark Hehir and Michael Martin will all make their bows in the competition.

Milltown attacker Hehir played a starring role in Galway’s All-Ireland Under-21 success last year, and made his senior Championship debut against Mayo in June.

In a team captained by International Rules ace Finian Hanley, two more of Mulholland’s exciting U-21 graduates, Thomas Flynn and Fintan Curran, will combine in midfield.

Missing the talismanic Padraic Joyce and the injury-plagued Michael Meehan, Galway will need some of their youngsters to step up to the mark. Although, Joe Bergin and Nicky Joyce could prove influential as substitutes this weekend.

Hanley told the Irish Daily Star: “The boys are ready. There is a bit of bite in training. There are a lot of lads looking over their shoulder now. Hopefully it can all blend early on and we can get our confidence back.

“Division 2 is as tough as Division 1. Meath almost got relegated last year and will be considered contenders for the Leinster title, as will Kildare.”

GALWAY (AFL v Derry): Manus Breathnach; Colin Forde, Finian Hanley (capt), Keith Kelly; Garreth Bradshaw, Johnny Duane, Gary O’Donnell; Thomas Flynn, Fintan Curran; Jonathan Ryan, Paul Conroy, Mark Hehir; Michael Martin, Cormac Bane, Danny Cummins.

Substitutes: Adrian Faherty, Kieran McGrath, Gary Sice, Diarmuid Blake, Tomás Fahy, Barry Cullinane, Joe Bergin, Cathal Kenny, Nicky Joyce, Joe Joe Greaney, Shane Maughan.

New Offaly manager Gerry Cooney has named his team to face Longford in their Allianz Football League Division 3 opener against Longford at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Sunday (throw-in 2.30pm).

The selected team shows seven changes to the side that lost out to Kildare in the recent Bord na Mona O’Byrne Cup quarter-final.

Walsh Island’s James Gallagher and Rhode’s Shane Sullivan come into defence, with Richie Dalton absent due to a calf injury and Derek Kelly also missing out.

Brian Hanamy has been drafted into midfield in place of Ross Brady, who is absent due to a rib injury. Up front Daniel Currams and Anton Sullivan partner Aidan Keenaghan in a new look half-forward line.

Bernard Allen, who featured for DIT in their extra-time victory over IT Carlow in the Sigerson Cup on Wednesday afternoon, is named in the full-forward line, alongside former Offaly net minder Alan Mulhall and St Sylvester’s, Dublin clubman Nigel Dunne.

David Hanlon is also absent due to a hamstring tear, while Michael Brazil and Rhode’s Niall McNamee have also been ruled out of this weekend’s game.

OFFALY (AFL v Longford): Kevin Meehan; James Gallagher, Paul McConway, Sean Pender; Brian Darby, Shane Sullivan, Lorcan Hiney; Brian Hanamy, Niall Smith; Aidan Keenaghan, Daniel Currams, Anton Sullivan; Bernard Allen, Alan Mulhall, Nigel Dunne.

Substitutes: Ian Duffy, Graham Guilfoyle, William Mulhall, Derek Kelly, Ken Casey, Ger Treacy, Stephen Guing, Kevin Lynam, John Moloney, James Keane.

The GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee has come down hard on Derrytresk and Dromid Pearses after the violent scenes that marred their All-Ireland Junior Club semi-final in Portlaoise last month.

Eight Derrytresk players have been banned and the Tyrone side have also been hit with a €5,000 fine.

The Kerry side, Dromid Pearses, have had three players suspended and have been fined €2,000.

Full-forward Kieran Donaghy will take on the captaincy role for Kerry’s opening Allianz Football League Division 1 clash with Dublin on Saturday night (throw-in 7.15pm).

Donaghy will lead an attack which includes in-form Legion clubman James O’Donoghue, who is set to make his first competitive start for the Kingdom.

For their trip to Croke Park, Jack O’Connor’s men are of course without their All-Ireland Championship-tied Dr. Crokes players.

There are notable inclusions for Laune Rangers’ Peter Crowley and Brian Maguire of Listowel Emmetts in defence, with the rest of the side mostly along expected lines.

The mercurial Paul Galvin joins former captain Darran O’Sullivan in the half-forward line, with Sean O’Sullivan also back in the starting line-up.

O’Sullivan, a four-time All-Ireland SFC winner, resumed training with Kerry earlier this month after a three-year absence. His form with beaten finalists Mid-Kerry in the county Championship earned him a recall.

O’Sullivan’s Cromane club-mate and fellow forward Donnchadh Walsh will miss the opening rounds of the league due to a hip/groin problem which may require surgery.

Meanwhile, substitutes Brian Moran and David O’Callaghan are back on board having previously been members of the panel, while Patrick Curtin and JP Spillane make the step-up from the Under-21 grade.

KERRY (AFL v Dublin): Brendan Kealy; Shane Enright, Marc Ó Sé, Peter Crowley; Tomás Ó Sé, Killian Young, Brian Maguire; Seamus Scanlon, Bryan Sheehan; Paul Galvin, Darran O’Sullivan, Sean O’Sullivan; James O’Donoghue, Kieran Donaghy (capt), Barry John Keane.

Substitutes: Tomás Mac a t’Saoir, Aidan O’Mahony, Daniel Bohan, Patrick Curtin, Anthony Maher, JP Spillane, Jonathan Lyne, Brian Moran, David O’Callaghan, David Geaney.

The future of Pádraic Joyce’s involvement in the Galway senior football squad will be discussed this week when the three-time All-Star meets with manager Alan Mulholland.

The 34-year-old was absent for the opening five games in the Tribemen’s Allianz Football League campaign last year, but featured in the Championship where Galway suffered defeats to Mayo and Meath.

Joyce has been plagued by injury in recent seasons, and the Killererin clubman has yet to indicate his availability for 2012. However, the new Galway boss is keen to have him on board.

“I’m not putting any severe pressure on Pádraic,” Mulholland said at the launch of the Allianz Football League today.

“I realise that when you are in your mid-30s it takes a bigger effort than ever to get into the shape that you need to be in in the modern game. I’m going to talk to him this week and see where he is on that.

“There’s no rush to get him in. We’d love to have him available for Championship and we will take the league for him to see whether he has the desire and pyhiscal ability to (play).

“Pádraic, again no more than Michael (Meehan), has had a few injuries over the last while and has been carrying a bit of that.

“Obviously you want your best players available to you and Pádraic is one of the best if not the best that Galway have had for the last number of years.”

Another player who has been troubled by injury in the Galway camp in recent seasons is Michael Meehan.

The Caltra clubman’s inter-county career has been blighted by a string of serious injuries over the past three years, with an ankle injury sustained during a league game against Kerry in 2010 continuing to haunt him.

Mulholland concedes that it is very much a bonus for his side if Meehan is involved. “It’s a management issue for Michael now, he will never be cured,” he admitted.

“Whether he can play inter-county football carrying this injury is the big issue. But Michael has been an example to the whole panel.

“Michael has been training infrequently (with the squad) over the last two to three years yet he is probably training harder than anybody else. He’s working on his own extremely hard.

“We have got to treat it as a bonus if Michael togs out for us in the Championship this year.”

Today’s Bord na Mona O’Byrne Cup final between Kildare and DCU and the Kehoe Shield hurling tie between Roscommon and Armagh have both been postponed due to bad weather conditions.

The O’Byrne Cup decider was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge. The game was due to be shown live on TG4.

In hurling, Roscommon’s Kehoe Cup clash with Armagh, due to take place at Athleague, is also postponed.

Both postponed games have yet to be refixed.

Meanwhile, in the Bord na Mona Walsh Cup the quarter-final tie between Laois and Dublin scheduled for Rathdowney will now take place at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise (throw-in 2pm).