Outside of the competing finalists, Mayo and Dublin, Saturday’s All-Ireland final replay has become a sideshow to what is now the most important spell in the GAA calendar for the majority of Gaels, the concluding stages of county championships.
Whatever it is about championship football in the GAA’s tradition, no matter what size your parish or town is, it brings out something different in us all that league football just can’t replicate.
Now that the opportunity for success and progression outside of your own county leads all the way to Croke Park for all adult grades, it affords every club player the opportunity to dream the impossible dream and give them a target to make any sacrifice worth while.
And long may it continue.
To see the attendances being churned out on a weekly basis for club championships across each county in our province at present is a true testament to loyalty shown to our games.
As Antrim hurler, Shane McNaughton perfectly commented recently, it’s our culture, our community and our way of life.
A lot of talk in recent times has been about how removed the inter county game and it’s players have become from grassroots within club football.
Well I am happy to report that for even the most “professional” team in the country at present, Dublin, that some of their players have not forgotten their roots.
On Saturday week last, the eve of the All Ireland final, my own club Crossmaglen were playing St Vincent’s from Dublin in a challenge game at our home pitch in town.
As I stood waiting on my opponent to make his way back across the field in my direction following the half time break, I could see he was getting some last minute advice from someone in his group.
As it turned out, that someone was none other than St Vincent’s and Dublin’s star man, Diarmuid Connolly.
I was stunned, I would see myself as being a big club man but I would seriously doubt I would have made the same trip as him had I been in his shoes.
Some reading this might feel that because of his below-par performance the following day, he might have been better off staying at home that evening to focus on the job in hand the next day, but that is nonsense.
He had a fierce battle with Lee Keegan throughout and was unable to offer his usual influence but he’s not the first man this happened too while under the watch of the most consistent half back in the country over the past five years.
I imagine he was there because it was the environment he felt most comfortable and relaxed in. Being around his close friends would have helped him to switch off from over thinking what lay ahead.
From speaking to some of Connolly’s club mates following our challenge game, they informed me that he did the exact same thing in the year previous when St Vincent’s travelled to Mullingar on the eve on the 2015 final to play Connacht opponents.
It is easy to see why St Vincent’s are the most successful club in Dublin football when their star players are setting the right example and culture for all their team-mates and future generation to follow.
As for the replay itself, both management teams have serious planning ahead as they finalise the tactics and team selection they feel best to complete the task they set out on at the beginning of the summer.
Can Mayo get more from the Aidan O’Shea and O’Connor brothers in particular?
Their hunger for hard graft cannot be questioned but as they are the main men needed to put the scores on the board to lead them to victory, their attacking threat from the first day will not be sufficient.
They’ll not succeed without these men troubling the scoreboard with greater regularity.
If I were Stephen Rochford, the only change I would potentially make would be the introduction of their minor and U21 winning captain Stephen Coen in place of Seamus O’Shea at midfield.
While O’Shea forced a few Dublin turnovers in the first 35 minutes in the drawn encounter, he got caught ball watching on a number of occasions to allow Brian Fenton drift into dangerous positions and create two goal scoring opportunities early on.
He also coughed up possession to easy in the second half which allowed Dublin drift into what looked like a match winning lead.
While Coen has limited experience as a starter at this level, he obviously has leadership qualities that will help him adapt, plus before last years All Ireland final Fenton himself was hardly a household name and he walked away with the man of the match award.
As did Walter Walsh for Kilkenny in 2012.
Jim Gavin may have more questions needing answered. Why were Dublin so flat? And, why did his forward line fail to function?
But Gavin’s a cool customer, he’ll know there’s a fine line between reading the riot act to get a reaction and pointing out the areas that can be fixed.
Dublin have not become a bad team over night, they had a poor day at the office by their own lofty standards but has it dented some of their shooters confidence?
Some of their wides or worse still their unwillingness to even shoot at all last week surprised me.
As a result of this, Paul Flynn and Bernard Brogan in particular seem to be under the spotlight in relation to maintaining their starting spots.
These are huge calls for Gavin to have to make, he will know the players inside out, if they’re fit to accept their faith and still be in the right frame of mind to come on and positively influence the game.
Given their standing within the squad, it brings added pressure on those being asked to replace them.
I know from personal experience, sitting on the bench takes getting used to, but it’s time neither men have at their disposal should it happen.
Mayo more than match Dublin in individual duels but I feel the biggest area for Dublin improvement is in their running game.
A part from the two occasions I early mentioned where Brian Fenton got on the end of moves, we didn’t see the usual onslaught of Dublin attacks which split opposition defences and create the simplest of scoring opportunities.
Yes, Jack McCaffrey is a miss in this department but they still have the athleticism within their squad to improve and pose greater problems from the Mayo defence.
The gap has closed and my assurance of a Dublin win is less than it was a fortnight ago but I feel Dublin have more room for improvement.
I’ll stick with my previous prediction and go for a Dublin win in what will hopefully be another absorbing contest.
