Dominant Dublin

Paul Brennan says Saturday’s fixture between Kerry and Dublin provides an opportunity for two genuine All-Ireland contenders to lay down a real marker

DESPITE Galway’s well deserved win in Tralee last Sunday and their maximum points thus far in this League campaign, there is already a foreboding sense that Dublin are, at the very least, maintaining their sizeable supremacy over every other team, and maybe even pulling further ahead. That was clearly the impression after last weekend’s win over Mayo in Castlebar: what one observer described as the biggest four-point hammering they’ve seen in a long time. From the moment Paul Mannion crashed his shot to beyond Mayo goalkeeper Rob Hennelly in the second minute Dublin looked assured of another League win, which they duly did without every looking too troubled by their hosts.

Kildare, Tyrone, Donegal and now Mayo have been dispatched with little or no fuss – with the exception of Donegal who offered a little resistance before being summarily beaten by five points. That’s just about the average winning margin for this Dublin team so far in the campaign (5.25 points to be precise), but it’s the efficiency and ruthlessness with which the Dubs are dealing with opponents that is most notable. They don’t seem to have to or even want to heap huge beatings on teams in terms of the final scoreline; rather it’s how they go about and execute their game plan and manage their way through a game that matters more. That’s what Kerry will face next Saturday evening and that’s what will be the acid test so far this year for the Kerry players and management alike.

It would be easy to look back to last year’s two meetings between the counties and conclude that the draw in Tralee and the League final in Croke Park prove that Kerry aren’t too far away from this Dublin team. And, yes, there’s probably a degree of merit in that. But it goes without saying that Dublin are All-Ireland champions for the last three summers, and Kerry would trade