Naas looking to break Crokes' Leinster stranglehold

It's been a whirlwind few years at club level for Kildare footballer Eoin Doyle.

Just two years ago, with Naas two games away from a first county title since 1990, manager Paul Kelly left in acrimonious circumstances ahead of the semi-final.

Doyle, the Kildare captain from 2016 and a key figure in Naas’ bid to end the silverware drought, stepped into the breach. The player-manager delivered a Kildare title before the side came up short against Kilmacud Crokes in the provincial decider.

The managerial role ended after six games, now concentrating on his duties as a defender and team captain as the club goes from success to success.

Last month Naas became the first Kildare club to seal a three-in-a-row since Sarsfields in the 1950s, and on Saturday (live on RTÉ2) will renew rivalries with Crokes in another Leinster final, where they will enter as underdogs.

Victory for the Stillorgan-based club would see them join St Vincent's and Portlaoise at the the top of the Leinster roll of honour, with their opponents seeking a maiden title.

The desire is to go further in the competition, but Doyle has been around long enough to savour a county title.

"When we finished up with the Kildare championship, and we were long enough in the doldrums without winning that, our absolute focus was in that," Doyle told RTÉ Sport.

"You’ve an opportunity to put your best foot forward to progress along the provincial championships or you can just go through the motions and find yourself out at the first round."

Summerhill were dispatched with 10 points to spare, but the semi-final joust with St Loman’s required extra-time to find a winner, with Darragh Kirwan’s 1-07 propelling Naas to a third consecutive championship clash with Crokes and a repeat of the