Gavin has the best two sides in Ireland
NEVER mind Mayweather/ McGregor I know of a payper-view television prospect that would set a box office record in this country.
I would pay good money over the next couple of weeks to catch an eyeful of the A versus B games that will be taking place behind Dublin’s closed doors.
With every passing game, my appreciation of Jim Gavin grows.
I got it so wrong here last week when I predicted that he would throw in Diarmuid Connolly from the start against Tyrone, but he did the exact opposite. He left him on the bench until the very end and brought him on so late that he did not even get a touch of the ball.
Bernard Brogan sat out the full 70 minutes, Michael Darragh Macauley ditto.
And those he brought in – Paul Flynn, Eoghan O’Gara and Kevin McManamon – played like the match was in the fire even though Tyrone had long been burned.
There was a reason why Gavin held back his big guns to ensure the fire in training continues to rage in the buildup to the final.
I saw that in Kerry when we were at our strongest in the mid noughties, Dara Ó Cinnéide lost his place to Bryan Sheehan in the 2005 semi-final, while the following year Declan O’Sullivan was dropped midChampionship. Both raised the heat at training in the build-up to those finals and reclaimed their places.
But that pales with the edge that will be evident in those Dublin practice matches over the next couple of weeks when it is quite possible the best games of the year will take place.