GAA: Gill filling in for O'Brien
Wicklow boss Moses Coffey admits the loss of Kevin O’Brien through retirement has hit the team hard in attack, but believes he may have found a player who could eventually be an adequate replacement.
O’Brien was the Garden county’s most lethal forward throughout the ’90s, winning an Allstar in 1990 and representing his country in the International Rules Series the same year and played for Ireland in 1998.
However, at 35, he decided to call it a day, leaving the Wicklow attack short of options.
"Kevin was a big loss," said Coffey. "He was always a great trainer and always had a good attitude, and as for his ability, well, it goes without saying that he had a lot of talent.
"He was the one of the best ever seen in Wicklow."
In the absence of O’Brien, the responsibility of leading the attack has fallen to Tommy Gill from the Rathnew club.
Gill has been impressive in this year’s league campaign, and won the Eircell Player of the Month award for January, the first player from the county ever to do so.
He picked up the award after scoring eight points in an O’Byrne Cup victory over Dublin.
However, at 22, Coffey knows that his star man is still on a learning curve.
"Tommy is still learning his trade," said Coffey. "He’s getting the scores, but he’s not the finished article yet.
"He’s just in his early 20s, so he’s inexperienced. He’s got a good left foot, but he’s got a bit to learn yet."
