THE All-Ireland football final is now only 12 days away and Dublin are on the verge of securing back-to-back All-Ireland titles and their fourth Sam Maguire crown in six seasons.
Victory over Mayo would surely cement their position as the most famous and admired team in their county’s illustrious history. While the Dubs proved against Kerry they are going into Sunday week’s decider far from undercooked, they still left it late to book their All-Ireland final place, needing two late points to see off their opponents in the most compelling game of football played this summer.
The 70-plus minutes they endured against the Kingdom will have given Jim Gavin and his players more to think about than anything they have encountered in the four previous months of Championship football. Regardless of all their recent achievements, a lingering doubt over their match sharpness has always hung over them, mainly because of the weakness of the competition they face in Leinster.
The Dubs’ demolition of all before them has been exquisite, only further expanding the gulf in quality - both technically and mentally - between themselves and the rest. It is beginning to look as if very few sides are able to maintain a sustained and serious challenge to Dublin.
Here’s a look at a couple of players from their closest rivals who I believe can help their counties begin to bridge the gap to the Dubs over the next year or two. Individual talent alone won’t be sufficient to bring a halt to the blue wave.
It will take players able to go step-for-step with their opponents and to not only win their own battle, but also help and inspire their team-mates to front up to the challenge facing them...
DAVID CLIFFORD (KERRY)
The main man up-front on the three-in-a-row chasing Kerry minors, Clifford is well used to the big occasion, having picked up man-of-the-match earlier this year when he starred for St Brendan’s, Killarney as they overcame St Patrick’s, Maghera in the Hogan Cup final.
Clifford may well have to oust a few household names in order to start when he eventually joins the senior panel, but there can be little doubt he has been the form underage footballer in Kerry this season. A consistent name on the scoresheet, he has been a nightmare for defences to contain because of his aerial ability and shooting potential off either foot.
Clifford has kicked on in 2016 and further enhanced his reputation as one of the most highly-touted players at minor level in recent years. Following Kerry’s comprehensive All-Ireland semi-final victory over Kildare, a number of pundits made the bold comparison that there are shades of a young Maurice Fitzgerald about Clifford and it will take a lot of nurturing from Eamon Fitzmaurice, or whoever is in charge, to know when is the right time to move Clifford up the pecking order.
An inside-forward line of Clifford, Paul Geaney and James O’Donoghue would be hard to curtail, given the right supply of ball.
RORY BRENNAN (TYRONE)
Tyrone have found players to perfectly suit their counter-attacking style on the wings of their defence, with Tiernan McCann, Niall Sludden and Peter Harte all displaying stellar form breaking from deep in the Championship arena.
Their long-term answer at centre half-back is yet to be found but, in Brennan, Tyrone’s 2015 All-Ireland U21-winning number six, Mickey Harte can find all the qualities Conor Gormley gave him during his glory years. Brennan’s apparently slight frame hides his athletic and physical presence - he is a player who is not afraid to put his body on the line in defence.
Keeping veterans like Joe and Justin McMahon around as they blood Brennan makes a lot of sense as, apart from Colm Cavanagh, no-one has adapted better to Mickey Harte’s defensive game plan than the McMahon brothers.
As long as Brennan avoids injury and can withstand an uninterrupted season of senior inter-county football, he could help Tyrone take a large step forward. His positional awareness, pace and athleticism will allow him to cover more ground from his central position, without Tyrone having to draw the same amount of numbers deep into their defence.
This will allow them to position more players in attacking areas to support their often isolated inside-forwards. This is an area that cost them badly during their last two Championship defeats to both Kerry and Mayo.
DIARMUID O’CONNOR (MAYO)
O’Connor has already made a name for himself on the national stage, but I feel there’s more to deliver on his potential and boundless energy levels.
Unlike Clifford, who is not yet a senior and Brennan, who must wait until next season, O’Connor will get the opportunity to help topple the Dubs in less than a fortnight. What has O’Connor got to trouble Dublin? During last year’s semi-final, the lack of any half-forward presence cost Mayo. They rarely had an outlet available to link play between their two inside-forwards Cillian O’Connor and Aidan O’Shea, meaning their play was predictable as their only option was to run the ball from their backline.
O’Connor is rumoured to be covering around 15km on match days - a phenomenal distance for one player to clock up. He’s not afraid of hard work, but can he make better use of his energy? I believe he can. Instead of doing the hard graft all over the field, he could use his athletic ability and physical frame to win more ball in the Mayo attack. He’d be a nightmare to mark playing across the 45-metre line, supplying his inside-forwards and supporting at pace.
In Mayo’s three semi-final appearances over the past 12 months, O’Connor has kicked five points from play, a decent return from a modern day half-forward. Given his ferocious appetite for hard work, he could be using his abilities in more attacking areas which, in turn, should help increase his scoring ratio to three or four points per game, turning the Mayo forward line into a more potent force.
