Paul BRENNAN

WAS it a strong National League or not, and how does that bode for the quality of the upcoming Championship?

IT was, not untypically, a National League that mixed the good with the bad, and one has to wonder how much the proximity of the provincial championships had a bearing on how certain teams approached the last couple of rounds.

Once teams were safely clear of the relegation zone, there was a definite easing off of the throttle by one or two sides, which is not ideal for the second most important competition.

With regard last Sunday’s final, it was most definitely a case of keeping the best until last, as Derry and Dublin threw the hatchet after the hammer - and a few skelps as well - in pursuit of a league title that seems to have been devalued in recent years for several reasons.

As for the imminent Championship, the League final was a godsend. Every other team, including Kerry, really know now - if they hadn’t already - that if Dublin and Derry can show that intensity on March 31, then everyone else is going to have to raise their game sharply and fairly sharpish.

From Kerry’s perspective, do you think they have strengthened their panel sufficiently, and who is the one player who has impressed you the most and why?

WELL, Jack O’Connor said the panel is stronger now than at the start of the year, but given the number of players injured right now, getting everyone fit and playing is crucial.

The obvious absentee that needed replacing was Jack Barry, and Kerry look to have found one in Joe O’Connor, who has certainly started to hit his stride in recent games.

Aside from him, there seemed a pressing need to generally freshen the panel from last year, and Cillian Burke, Sean O’Brien and Conor Geaney have done that.

Dylan Geaney and Dylan Casey have got valuable minutes, and much less so Damien Bourke and Armin Heinrich. Even Darragh Roche has surged back into the reckoning.

Kerry’s most impressive player? Cillian Burke was on an real upward curve before getting injured. Kerry can be a little light at wing forward at times and the Milltown/Castlemaine man seemed to be ready-made for the role. He still can make a big impression this year, whether starting or coming on as an impact substitute.

Are Dublin the hot favourite to retain their title, or can any team dethrone them? Who could that be?

CERTAINLY before the League final, Dublin were being widely touted as red-hot favourites to retain the All-Ireland title, and in an odd sort of way, their loss to Derry probably makes them an even more solid bet.

‘Fool me once, shame on me...etc etc’ might apply here. After two losses at the start of the year, the Dubs cut a swathe through everyone else, including walloping Kerry, and in Sunday’s final they got a bit too loosey-goosey at the back and played with the sort of abandon that saw their predecessors caught out badly by Donegal in 2014.

Lesson learned? One would imagine so. Dessie Farrell won’t let that happen again, nor will Stephen Cluxton or James McCarthy if and when they return.

As for anyone to dethrone Dublin? Derry, obviously, have one upn on them now in a national final, and they won’t fear them one bit if they meet again in the summer.

Kerry are the other likely lads to go toe to toe with the champions, and they will also have learned lots from that League hammering and won’t let that happen in a re-match.

What county looks like it could be a disruptor to the established sides?

WE’RE taking Kerry, Dublin, Derry, Mayo, Tyrone and Galway - basically the top six as they finished in Division One - as the ‘establishment’ so beyond that? Armagh have been the really ‘nearly men’ of the last few seasons and it really feels like last chance saloon for Kieran McGeeney up there.

Monaghan, despite being relegated, were in the All-Ireland semi-final last year and could be a stone in the shone for any of the big boys in a one-off game.

There is nothing coming out of Munster or Leinster to threaten, so that leaves Donegal.

In complete disarray last season after their manager Paddy Carr quit midway through the League, Jim McGuinness has returned and already got them back to the top flight as Division Two champions.

They are still short a few top quality players but one thing is certain: a McGuinness team will die on their backs for the cause so Donegal could be the not so dark horse than might trample on one or two All-Ireland dreams.

Having seen the new format for the first time last year, is the provincial / All-Ireland series too bloated with games, or are you excited for a feast of action between now and the end of July?

GAMES are great, and are far better than those empty weekends that used to speckle the summer. That said, it’s a bit jarring to have Championship games next weekend, six days after the National League final.

Also, one has to wonder if the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals are really necessary, or do they take too much jeopardy out of the group phase itself with three to qualify?

The real problem is - and this has always been true since the abolition of the old straight knock-out days - that almost every year it is the same three or four (maybe five at a push) counties that can win the All-Ireland title. And that gives the sense that everything and every game is just a means to getting to the semi-finals, which is when most of the public only start to tune in.

What three players are you most looking forward to watching in the Championship, and who is likely to be named Footballer of the Year?

WE will avoid Kerry men here. As a one-time full back I’ve always had a soft spot for no.3s, and the Championship would really benefit from seeing Galway’s Sean Kelly back in full flight, defending stoutly and raiding forward for the Tribesmen.

Keep your eyes peeled on Derry’s centre-back Eoin McEvoy. On Sunday he arrived with 2-2 in a man of the match show against Dublin, and he is only going to get better. Not quite 21 years old yet, the Magherafelt man is emerging as the best centre-back in the business, who has skill and confidence to burn.

Con O’Callaghan (pictured) is a delight to watch. The Dublin forward has that perfect blend of poise and power, capable of delivering delicate pirouettes and points on one hand, and in the next instant he can bulldoze defenders and nearly take the rigging of the net with supersonic strikes on goal.

If Dublin are to win the All-Ireland, which I think they will, Con will be the Footballer of the Year.

Four provincial champions, the All-Ireland finalists and who lifts Sam Maguire?

Kerry, Dublin, Mayo, Derry Dublin to beat Kerry in the final