Less than a fortnight after Kerry won their most recent All-Ireland, Tommy Walsh announced that he was quitting the Sydney Swans and returning home.
He said he was returning to his club Kerins O'Rahilly's and, if they wanted him, Kerry as well.
Cackling prophecies that the 'production line was finished in Kerry' had been debunked in the most public manner possible and now we had the return of one of its most celebrated products.
Today, Walsh quit the panel after fifteen months in which he was often a bit part player and often an unused sub. In the most important games, it was usually the latter.
The final game of Walsh's first spell with Kerry was the 2009 All-Ireland final. He kicked four points from play as Kerry dismantled a fancied Cork team who believed their time had come. Presumably, he was only pipped to the Man of the Match award by Tom O'Sullivan after a lengthy debate. He had already been awarded Young Footballer of the Year in 2008. Shortly afterwards, he headed for Australia.
In two full League campaigns and one championship summer, he has only started three matches for Kerry and has played the full seventy minutes only once, against Roscommon in Killarney in Round 2 of this year's NFL (though he came close in the 2016 opener against Dublin in Croke Park, only being hauled off with seven minutes left.
He played 13 minutes of football + injury time in last year's championship, coming on against Tipperary and Kildare. And in the past six League games, he had played only four minutes of football, coming on late against Cork in Killarney.
Fitzmaurice has invariably preferred Kieran Donaghy in the biggest games. In all three games that Walsh has started, Donaghy has played no part. In the League Final, Donaghy, Donnchadh Walsh, Colm Cooper, Bryan Sheehan and Darran O'Sullivan
Walsh's banishment to the fringes of the squad is especially curious in light of the ageing nature of the Kerry forward line. In the League Final, Donaghy, Donnchadh Walsh, Colm Cooper, Bryan Sheehan and Declan O'Sullivan started ahead of him, all players in their 30s.
Were Kerry football in a happier mood, Eamonn Fitzmaurice might be getting praised for 'ruthlessness' today - as he has been continually throughout his reign. But following Kerry's dispiriting loss on Sunday, more and more people are instead lamenting that more use hasn't been made of the 2008 Young Footballer of the Year since his return.
2015 - League
R1: Mayo - Half-time sub for Bryan Sheehan - hauled off on 65th minute
R2: Derry - Started match at left-half forward. Was first to be taken off for Anthony Maher
R3: Dublin - Introduced for Paul Geaney on 59 mins
R4: Cork - Brought on for Bryan Sheehan after 20 mins. (1-0)
R5: Donegal - Introduced for Paul Geaney on 54 mins
R6: Monaghan - Brought on for injured Paul Geaney after 33 mins
R7: Tyrone - Introduced on 42nd minute for black carded Stephen O'Brien
Championship 2015
MSF: Tipperary - Introduced for Anthony Maher with three minutes of normal time remaining
MF: Drawn Cork game - Played no part
MF Replay: Cork replay - Played no part
QF: Kildare - Introduced for Anthony Maher with ten minutes left.
SF: Tyrone - Played no part
AF: Dublin - Played no part
2016 League
R1: Dublin - Started the game, scoring a point from midfield. Withdrawn for Gavin O'Grady on 63 minutes.
R2: Roscommon - Played full game from full-forward.
R3: Down - Introduced for Kieran Donaghy with seven minutes remaining.
R4: Donegal - Played no part.
R5: Mayo - Played no part.
R6: Monaghan - Played no part.
R7: Cork - Introduced for Stephen O'Brien with four minutes remaining.
Semi-Final: Roscommon - Played no part
Final :Dublin - Played no part.
Read more: Kerry's Championship Hopes Hit With Tommy Walsh's Withdrawal From Panel
