After the protracted fall-out from last weekend’s Tyrone v Monaghan game, it is hard not to feel nauseated that all the attention has been diverted away from what should be the most exciting time in the GAA calendar.
The amount of moral high ground being seized and finger-pointing being done would make you think that a ‘win at all costs’ attitude is something new to sport, never mind Gaelic football.
The obvious thing that most people seem to have missed is that the more professional our game gets, the greater the levels of preparation, the higher the stakes become, which in turn stretches the threshold that players will go to in order to gain an advantage.
This is nothing new in sport and seems to be a natural evolution when the standard of competition reaches professional levels.
By this stage I’m pretty sure everyone is fed up with the Tiernan McCann ‘hair-gate’ debacle.
I was highly critical of his actions at the time but, in trying to deal with the situation, the GAA have once again torn up their own rulebook by punishing one player for simply doing what a host of other high-profile stars have done in recent times.
When the GAA introduced the black card, I said they had missed a trick in terms of dealing with cynical play and had actually creating a new platform for a worse form of gamesmanship and cynicism.
From the outset, a player grabbing another player around the waist to stop him, whether they go to ground or not, should have been a black card offence.
Since its introduction, players have been going to ground far too easily in an attempt to get their opponents lined. And the shrewder operators are getting away with the bear hug tackle. How can that be right?
By all means have a review of the rules, and I would welcome a change in the ruling to deal more severely with players feigning injury.But trial by media isn’t the way to go about it.
And as an organisation the GAA has come out of this looking bad. It smacks of weak leadership, selective scrutiny and points to an organisation who seem to take action to please the circling of wagons.
Now to the important stuff.
I once heard it said that ‘Hell hath no fury like a buck-mad Tyrone man’.
Or something along those lines. So for that reason here are five points why I’m tipping Tyrone to prove all the haters wrong and beat Kerry next weekend.
1. I don’t think Kerry are quite as good as their 7-16 against Kildare suggested. For a start Tyrone have one of the best defensive records this year, only conceding one solitary goal in their six championship games to date.
With their double sweeper system and packed defence in place they are unlikely to leak more than one goal in this game. Kerry’s swash buckling array of attacking talent will be met by a sea of ravishing white and red jerseys every time they enter the danger zone.
This is a different type of challenge Kerry haven’t faced this year. Tyrone will turn many Kerry attacks over but how Kerry defend in these situations and how Tyrone capitalise on the opportunities will have a huge bearing on the outcome of the game.
Tyrone are now having their third game in Croke Park so I have seen enough to think their defensive game and counter-attacking will cause the Kingdom huge problems.
2. A statistic that seems to have escaped media scrutiny is that in their three Munster Championship games against Tipperary and Cork Kerry actually conceded six goals in total. Tyrone’s high octane counter-attacking game is perfect to expose any tiring legs in the Kerry defence and goal chances could be created for Mickey Harte’s men.
Both Aidan O’Mahony and Marc O’Se at 35 are vulnerable to pace but do Tyrone have the ruthlessness to finish off any goal opportunities that come their way?
In their games to date, you would have to say that’s been an area of concern. But I’m sure that is something that hasn’t escaped the attention of the coaching staff and with confidence high I fancy Tyrone to hit the onion bag on more than one occasion.
3. When you look at the array of scoring talent in the Kerry forward line and then consider the impressive midfield pairing of Anthony Maher and David Moran it is easy to see why they are odds on favourites for this semi-final.
But a couple of points we should consider. Tyrone will do everything in their power to engineer quick kickouts and any time they thump the ball out long you can be certain they will avoid this towering duo at all costs. On their own kickout Kerry will have a massive decision to make.
Tyrone will retreat back into their defensive shape and allow Kerry the quick restart. If Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s men decide to go short they will ensure there is no aerial midfield battle and Moran and Maher become less influential as a result.
If they go long and Tyrone can manage to gain even 40% of the Kerry kick-out then they are in business. If the midfield aerial battle doesn’t materialise then Mattie Donnelly becomes the prominent figure from that quartet.
4. When Kerry won the All-Ireland in 2014, their three most influential forwards were James O’Donoghue, Kieran Donaghy and Paul Geaney.
During the week, the news coming out of the Kingdom suggested that the latter, who broke Donegal hearts in last year’s decider, was out for the rest of the season with a back injury. Last year’s player of the year O’Donoghue is also a doubt after hurting his shoulder again against Kildare.
With the Gooch more likely to operate on the 40’ Kerry will badly miss that quality of inside forwards.
5. Not prizes for guessing my fifth point: Motivation. Need I say more?
