ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL KERRY v TYRONE:The young Kerryman faces into his sixth final still trying to regain his very best scoring form, he tells Seán Moran
COLM COOPER is just 25 but you could forget because he's been part of the football landscape for so long. He is facing into his fifth successive final with Kerry; his first appearance came at the end of his rookie season in 2002. Three All-Ireland medals have followed and four All Stars plus the Footballer of the Year award in 2004.
No career maintains a continuously upward or even a smooth trajectory, but Cooper rarely disappoints when the season reaches this stage.
Three years ago when Tyrone burned off Kerry with their pace and movement Cooper still kicked five points, three from play.
A year later, after his first real loss of form in championship, he still managed 1-2 from play in the final. Twelve months ago he capped a season that had seen him deployed for the first time in a deeper and more creative role by scoring 1-5, 1-3 from play.
So any concession that his form could be better this year comes with that caveat for Tyrone, but Cooper himself isn't too satisfied with his championship to date.
"Average is probably the word that would describe it," he says.. "I've set standards for myself that haven't been met in terms of scoring returns with the exception of the last day. Maybe that reflects my different role. I'd just like to put in a complete performance.
"There have been patches of games that have been very good and other parts that haven't been so good and I'd just like to be able to piece the jigsaw together.
"It (form) does come and go but maybe I could tune in a little bit more and see what I could do to benefit the team. I'm not pressurising myself, saying that I have to kick 1-5 or 1-6 or 1-7, because that's not the way to go about it."
Part of the reason for the more subdued scoring is the more varied role under manager Pat O'Shea, who was also in charge of the Dr Crokes team that reached last year's All-Ireland club final. On one level Cooper's vision and skill on the ball make him an excellent distributor; on another it's hard to imagine anything more valuable than his ability as a classical finisher, which has seen him accumulate 3-14 in five All-Ireland finals.
"There were times when Declan (O'Sullivan) had been injured or had been away and I was asked to step into things," he says. "Pat maybe felt that I could play that role because he'd seen me in action for Crokes and I've been asked to do it at times but at the end of the day I probably am an out-and-out corner forward.
"I played a couple of positions for the club but nearly all of my football for Kerry has been inside at number 13. I have been asked to play a slightly different role and that's fine because anything I can contribute that helps the team over the winning line I'll be happy to do it.
"My game has been a little bit stop-start and I've been going well one minute and not-so-great another day so I'm trying to put together a more complete performance."
It would be timely because Tyrone have the best All-Ireland record against Kerry of any team this decade. Cooper had mixed fortunes in those matches, succumbing along with virtually the entire team to the 2003 semi-final blitz but outstanding two years later despite his supply being almost entirely shut down.
He says the team were confident in 2005 that they had learned the lessons of Tyrone's intensity.
"We thought we had. In 2003 we were blown out of it and were nowhere near winning an All-Ireland, to be honest. In 2004 we won the All-Ireland but in 2005 we had beaten Cork comprehensively in the semi-final and Tyrone had very tight games against Armagh and a replay against Dublin so they were well battle tested.
"Maybe we've come that way this year. We've had tough games against Monaghan, struggled against Galway for a while and of course the encounters with Cork were huge games as well so it will be interesting to see how we fare."
A sixth All-Ireland in seven years and a team could be forgiven for finding the lead-up mundane or repetitive. Present for all of them, Cooper disagrees.
"It's never a routine. Getting near to a final you can feel it: the media around, the interest in training and the big crowds. It's great when the evenings are getting a bit darker and you have a match in Croke Park. A Kerry footballer could never get sick of preparing for an All-Ireland."
Kerry and Tyrone will name their teams for the final later today.
CooperFacts
Age:25
Club:Dr Crokes
Position:Centre forward/corner forward
Honours:All-Ireland SFC 2004, 2006 and 2007; Munster SFC 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007; National League 2004 and 2006; All Star 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007. Footballer of the Year 2004.
