Hassett starts at full forward

Kerry have recalled Liam Hassett to their team for Sunday's All-Ireland football final, but Maurice Fitzgerald will again start on the bench.

The return of the 1997 captain means Denis Dwyer reverts to the bench. Like opponents Galway, the Munster champions have made only one change from their successful semi-final.

But the change involves a positional switch with Dara O Cinneide lining out on the 40 and Hassett moving to the edge of the square. This reflects the alignment of the attack at the end of the replayed Armagh semi-final which O Cinneide played entirely at centre forward. Hassett came into that match at the end of the first half and made a significant impact for the remainder of the match.

The Laune Rangers player had been a fixture on the team at centre forward for all the matches up to the semi-final replay when he was replaced by Dwyer, having been substituted for Fitzgerald in the drawn match. But his replay performance had made his recall likely.

Neither is Fitzgerald's continuing absence from the starting 15 too much of a surprise. He has made an impact off the bench in all of Kerry's matches so far. Even in the semi-final replay, when he wasn't fully fit after an injury sustained in the draw, the 1997 Footballer of the Year managed two points and a super pass for Michael Russell's crucial first goal.

There had been some speculation that Tom O'Sullivan might make way at left wing back for Tommy Griffin who played very well in the Armagh replay after coming on as a 44th-minute replacement for O'Sullivan. But Paidi O Se and his selectors are obviously happy to persevere with the half-back line which has started all matches to date.

The other, somewhat unsettled, position has been at right corner back, but Mike Hassett - who replaced Killian Burns at the start of the second Armagh match - was always likely to hold the number two jersey. His selection and the recall of brother Liam is in contrast to three years ago when Mike lost his place on the team after captaining Kerry to both the National League and the Munster titles. As the team used six substitutes between the two All-Ireland matches, Mike Hassett didn't even receive a medal.

Although Liam captained the team in the final and lifted the Sam Maguire, there was further dismay for the Laune Rangers club when corner forward Billy O'Shea broke his leg in the final.

The following year both Hassett brothers were dropped off the Kerry panel and missed the 1998 Munster success and the All-Ireland defeat by Kildare.

Their presence on Sunday means that four sets of brothers will start the final: the Hassetts and O Ses - Darragh and Tomas - for Kerry and the Joyces - Padraig and Tommy - and the Meehans - Tomas and Declan - for Galway.

There is also the presence of Richie Fahey (brother of Gary) and John Donnellan (brother of Michael) plus Micheal and Lorcan O Callarain on the Galway bench, which raises the potential number of brothers to seven.