We now know the All-Ireland SFC Finalists after Mayo and Kerry came through their respective semi-finals last weekend.
We probably didn’t get the high-end last-four meetings that we wanted but there was still plenty of talking points arising from the games.
Most people predicted that Saturday’s game would be tight but it didn’t play out like that as Mayo hammered Louth.
Was it a system malfunction from Louth or are they just not at that top level? Donegal dumped them out of the last two championships with minimum fuss and Mayo did the same this year.
Louth did have good wins over Dublin, Armagh and Monaghan this year but they still have a bit to go and there are more players coming.
I mentioned Mayo’s full-forward line last week of Darragh Beirne, Ryan O’Donoghue and Kobe McDonald and they are really playing well.
Tommy Conroy was a bit wasteful when he came on but he’s making an impact off the bench.
Mayo pressed up the field and won the ball back off Louth very easily.
We know that’s the way Andy Moran likes to see football played. That’s how the Monaghan side he coached last year operated.
But it’s a risk against Kerry, there’s no doubt about that.
If you give them too much space in attack they will punish you, so Mayo have to find the right balance.
Mayo will be big underdogs but in this unpredictable season, could they finally bring Sam home for the first time since 1951?
Kerry weren’t amazing against Dublin but they were still able to dig out the result.
Now they definitely benefitted from a couple of breaks.
The penalty was soft, then Sean O’Brien was in the square before he fisted in a goal.
They also could have had a goal late on when Ross McGarry’s shot looked like it had crossed the line. It wasn’t given and in fairness, to the umpires, it was a very difficult decision to make in a split-second.
There have been some calls for VAR to be introduced but I don’t see that as a runner. I think it’s possible we will see goalline technology at Croke Park but it won’t be rolled out all over the country.
I’ve spoken about this before but I think we have to help our referees. There’s just so much to keep an eye on.
We could start with scrapping the square ball rule. At inter-county and club level, it just causes more hassle than anything else.
And I would get rid of the ‘attacking mark’ as well. It’s offering nothing, just giving teams a free play, knowing they can come back for the mark if they don’t get a score.
The majority of these ‘marks’ are being sent into the corner and caught in the chest by defenders. I can’t imagine that’s what the plan was when it was first drawn up.
Dublin took a similar approach to Donegal in the All-Ireland Final last year and sat deep.
It meant that they kept a good handle on David Clifford and Dylan Geaney but Paudie Clifford ran the match. There’s just so many fires to put out.
Kerry probably haven’t been at their best but they are through to an All-Ireland Final and they will always be a dangerous animal at this stage.
Dublin were disappointed but I think they will be happy enough with how the season finished.
Ciaran Kilkenny has retired and that is a blow even though he isn’t the same force as he was.
I think Dublin’s new players showed well as the championship went on and they will be in contention again next year if they can find one or two more players over the winter.
All-Ireland Hurling Final
The football will take a back seat this weekend as the All-Ireland Hurling Final is played between Galway and Limerick on Sunday.
It’s always a big day in the GAA calendar and it has the makings of a good final.
For years, football people looked at the excitement in hurling games and craved some of the drama.
However, hurling has very much played second fiddle to football this year.
The Munster Championship was disappointing as were the quarter-finals.
Clare v Limerick was a good game but Cork disappointed badly against Galway in their semi-final.
I’ve been down in Galway this week and there’s a good buzz about with plenty of flags and bunting on show. It’s a new-look Galway side but they have shown up well.
Limerick have been a fancied side all year and they have a lot of quality players. They had the answers when under pressure against Clare two weeks ago.
It will be a massive occasion and I think Limerick might just come out on top but I’m sure neutrals all over the country will be hoping that it’s the men in maroon and white who are celebrating on Sunday evening.
League action
It’s the final weekend of league action in Donegal and there are some good games in store.
The big news last week was that Gaoth Dobhair were relegated to Division 2.
I don’t think anyone would have seen that coming at the start of the season.
Even a few weeks ago, Gaoth Dobhair needed just one win from their final three games to stay up but they couldn’t find it.
Division 2 is not where Gaoth Dobhair want to be and it’s not a good way to be heading into the championship.
They were at a low ebb after losing the County Final last year and I thought they would come back with real intent.
Now they have been missing key men due to injury but there hasn’t been any consistency to their team from week-to-week.
You have to hand it to St Michael’s. They were without Michael Langan and Carlos O’Reilly and still came away with a big win.
The job isn’t finished for St Michael’s yet and how many times this year have we seen a club get a big performance and then fall flat the next day?
St Michael’s can’t afford that to happen and Muff will think they can take the win in Lifford.
However, if the focus is right, I think the men from the Bridge should have the experience to win and stay up.
The Division 1 Final will be played in Glenties on Saturday night with Dungloe taking on Four Masters and it should be a good game of football.
Dungloe lost Ryan Connors and Barry Curran to emigration before the season started but there has been a real consistent look to their team this year.
Mark Curran is really the only player they have been missing and he will be back driving them on this week.
Noel McBride and Adrian Sweeney are calling the shots now and I think the Rosses side will be gunning for it on Saturday.
Four Masters have a couple of men in America which weakens their hand.
But as has been well documented, they have a lot of talent coming through the ranks.
Four Masters probably go into the game as favourites but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Dungloe came out on top.
The Division 2 Final sees Ardara taking on Naomh Columba in Dunkineely.
Ardara have been down in the second tier for a good while and I’m sure they are glad to get promoted.
Naomh Columba did make light work of them a few weeks ago, and the Glencolmcille side have been shooting the lights out.
Ardara should improve this time out but Glen are confident and they have firepower.
Letterkenny Gaels take on Naomh Brid in the Division 3 Final.
Ronan Frain is away in America and he will be a big loss for the Gaels but I still think they might edge through in this one.