THE GR-EIGHT DEBATE
Is it safe to expect the same outcome to this new format?
HOW was it for you? The Super 8s started with a whimper rather than a bang; two one-sided games on Saturday preceded by two pretty dire ones on Sunday.
The general lack of atmosphere and an oil-slick for a pitch on Sunday meant that Croke Park did not even provide a grand backdrop. Instead, it contributed to what was an underwhelming experience.
However, when you poke through the embers, there was still plenty to be salvaged which served to illuminate.
Here, neatly enough, are eight things Sportsmail took from that Super 8s’ not-so-grand launch.
1 DUBLIN ARE NOW TWICE AS LIKELY TO WIN THE FOUR IN-A-ROW
THAT’S not an observation plucked from the sky, but the view from the bookmakers who shifted their odds accordingly following the weekend’s action.
Kerry’s implosion against Galway, and the growing sense that there is no other team capable of challenging the All-Ireland champions reigning, has left Jim Gavin’s men in the driving seat.
There is also the growing sense that the champions are now so far ahead of the chasing pack that they don’t even have to be at their best to see off a top-four ranked team like Donegal.
On Saturday, Dublin were as careless and sloppy under Gavin’s charge as we have ever witnessed. It was a performance pock-marked by poor execution, dodgy decisionmaking and an attack two thirds of which barely turned up.
Con O’Callaghan, Paul Mannion, Dean Rock and Ciarán Kilkenny managed two points from open play — half a point per man — between them.
And, yet, there was never the slightest doubt about the outcome, with the final winning margin five points, going on 10.
One final point, if Dublin beat Tyrone this weekend they can afford to field a second string team against Roscommon and still win, which in effect will provide them with a three-week build up to the semi-final.
2 THE HEAT IS ON ÉAMONN FITZMAURICE
THERE were all kinds of reasons beyond Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s control as to why Kerry did not perform, but they also fell down in one of the areas in which the Finuge man should be in charge.
For the third successive Croke Park defeat in as many years, a harsh light has been shone on his team selection and bench management.
In 2016, it was the late benching of Paul Geaney when the All-Ireland semi-final was in the fire, last year he started an unfit Donnchadh Walsh on Mayo’s Colm Boyle and on Sunday it was his decision to allow Kieran Donaghy sit out the entire 70 minutes.
His explanation afterwards — that his hand was forced because he needed to get Mark Griffin on the pitch in place of the injured Jason Foley — did not wash as, at the same moment, Barry John Keane and Walsh were also sent into the Kerry attack.
On a day when Kerry’s running game had malfunctioned and their runners were incapable of penetrating Galway’s blanket defence, Fitzmaurice had only one gamechanging forward sub which would have facilitated a more direct approach.
If Kerry are in the post mortem business in a week’s time, expect that issue to rear its head.
3 GALWAY’S STRUCTURE AND FORM CAN BE TRUSTED
CHAMPIONSHIP morgues are filled with spring lambs that never amounted to anything. Galway, favourites to be relegated, were the Allianz League’s big story but they have brought that pedigree right into the summer.
They don’t just have form to fall back on, they have structure too. They dialled up the pressure on Kerry to the point that the most hyped attack in the land were still in single digits at the 70-minute mark.
They are hell to play against and while they have issues — none bigger than a mounting midfield injury crisis after Paul Conroy joined Ciaran Duggan in sick bay — they also have one foot in the semi-final and are now favourites for a September date with Dublin
4 MONAGHAN CAN SHATTER THAT GLASS CEILING
NATURALLY, Malachy O’Rourke will play it down but this Sunday’s clash with Kerry represents his best opportunity to take Monaghan to higher ground.
For all the good work he has done with the Farney men, the one stain has been his failure in four attempts to get them into the last four.
It is the stuff of dreams to get two shots at it, but the first looks the best.
A home game with a hugely partisan crowd, against a transitional Kerry team whose belief will be shaken by the manner of their defeat to Galway… Monaghan will never get a better chance.
5 RICHARD DONNELLY HAS PROVIDED TYRONE WITH A NEW DIMENSION
IN winning their last two games by an aggregate of 34 points, Tyrone have gone from a middle of the road team in crisis to a top range one in contention.
It is not that simple, though. They are pretty much in the same place they were 12 months ago.
Their faith is still based on a rigid defensive system and they were always capable of doing a number on weaker opponents — they beat Armagh by 16 points in last year’s quarter-final.
What is different is that in losing Mark Bradley and Lee Brennan to injury, manager Mickey Harte was forced to redraft his full-forward line and, in the process, stumbled across the player he has been in search of for an age.
Donnelly, who nailed 1-4 against Roscommon, provides a target for a more direct game-plan, offering some badly needed variety.
6 DONEGAL NEED TO MAKE UP THEIR MIND ON MICHAEL MURPHY
IT is the longest running saga known to GAA punditry — where best to play Michael Murphy?
Donegal manager Declan Bonner’s answer is an orthodox midfielder. That argument was strengthened by the lack of impact from the likes of Leo McLoone and Odhrán MacNiallais last weekend. However as Murphy (below) puts in the hard yards, some of the thunder has been stolen from his game. The answer may not be to recast him as an old-fashioned full-forward, but he needs to cover less ground out the field and more of it where his potential to hurt is greatest. Flitting between centre and full-forward would seem a better fit, but others must step up first to issue him with that freedom.
7 DANIEL FLYNN IS A UNIQUE TALENT
WE may live in a time when the
system is king, but if that is the case then Daniel Flynn (right) is truly a rose among thorns.
He is an outrageous, unorthodox talent and his goal — a mix of balance, control and composure — against Monaghan summed him up.
He has been doing that all year for Kildare — it was the fourth time netting this summer — and while he may not end up with anything tangible at the end of it, he is the one player more than any other who has put some magic back into a dull game.
8 SCHEDULE AND VENUES MUST BE REVISITED
IT reeked of Donald Trump’s inauguration claim of the ‘biggest ever’ with the official announcement that in excess of 30,000 attended Sunday’s double-header. The flux between crowds at a double bill makes it hard to evaluate — but it felt closer atmosphere-wise to 15,000, which is a dreadful backdrop for games of such importance. There is no easy way out. Certainly, the idea of all eight teams playing the first round in Croke Park should be scrapped. The only option is to take these games out to neutral provincial grounds — or alternatively play the opening round on a home/away basis decided on the toss of a coin. Yes, that would mean some teams would get two home games. Outrageous, isn’t it?