Kerry manager Peter Keane says he was "very happy" with how Tommy Walsh performed during the league, as they prepare to begin their Munster SFC campaign this weekend.
Walsh returned to the Kerry fold at the outset of this season after withdrawing from the panel in 2016 due to lack of game time. He previously won an All-Ireland with Kerry in 2009 before departing for the AFL.
The former Sydney Swans player has made an impressive return to the Kerry attack, producing a number of influential performances to help Keane's side reach the Division 1 final against Mayo in March.
Speaking ahead of Kerry's Munster semi-final against Clare on Saturday evening, Keane explained to RTÉ Sport that Walsh has brought a wealth of experience into the camp this year.
"From what I was looking at in the county championship last year, Tommy was doing very well. And some experience left the Kerry set-up over the number of months so we were anxious to get as much experience in the dressing room as we could.
"He had some very good performances throughout the league and we were very happy with the way he performed. I think he has enjoyed it thoroughly himself."
Kerry are aiming to complete a seven-in-a-row in Munster this year and will take on the same opposition they faced in last year's semi-final where the Kingdom registered a 22-point win. Clare overcame Waterford by one point to book their spot in the 2019 semi-final.
It will be Keane's first Munster game in charge after taking over as Kerry manager from Eamonn Fitzmaurice last October, having previously guided the Kerry minors to three successive All-Ireland titles.
"As the new manager with a new management team around me, we'd a lot of players who were new to it," Keane says about his early days at the helm.
"Some of them were new to the set-up only last year and there was a few departures with retirements and stuff like that. So there was a lot of getting to know fellas and fellas getting to know each other.
"And then trying to find out the team and get a team pieced together."
