After what feels like an eternity, Mayo are finally back in competitive fare as they take on Kerry in Killarney this Saturday in Group One, Round 1, of the All-Ireland series. As expected, Louth were confirmed as the remaining team making up Group One after they were mauled by Dublin in the Leinster final by 21 points.
It feels a bit weird that in a compressed season with way more championship games being played, you can still go a full six weeks without a game. That's a bigger gap than you would ever have had to contend with back in the "one chance only" days, when sometimes, four games were all it took to win the All-Ireland title.
Despite the fact that Mayo have already played and been beaten by Roscommon in this year's championship, you get a slight vibe that the championship is only getting underway despite the four provincial winners only just being crowned. Maybe we are wearing blinkers here in Mayo because we weren't involved in the latter stages of those provincial championships.
There is a real feel of the old system that used to be in place with the large gap between games, the players given a couple of weeks off after the loss to Roscommon, and Kevin McStay's recent announcement of a 36-man championship panel for the rest of Mayo's involvement. That is the way it used to happen when the league concluded and you had to wait with bated breath for two or so weeks, hoping you got the call to resume training for the championship and be part of that panel.
We have no idea what to expect from Mayo on Saturday afternoon
It leaves us entering the unknown really. We have no idea what to expect from Mayo on Saturday afternoon. Was the six-week gap between matches the ideal scenario for Mayo to prepare for taking on the All-Ireland champions? How good are Kerry this year? Don't forget they lost their four away games in this year's National League, one of which was to Mayo on February 18 by 2-14 to 1-10. I know for a fact that result will have been mentioned in the Kerry dressing room this week.
Kerry comfortably won the Munster championship, winning their two games by 34 points in total. Although you have to factor in they only had to beat Tipperary and Clare along the way for that title, they looked really impressive in doing so, but the quality of the opposition has to be questioned.
Mayo's most recent challenge game was against Kildare last Friday in Athlone, which the Lillywhites won by eight points. There was game time for plenty of the extended panel. It will be interesting to see if any player has made good use of the six-week hiatus between the Roscommon defeat and now to catapult themselves into the reckoning for Saturday and the rest of the campaign. It could easily happen. Players who were playing well in March/early April might not necessarily be playing as well right now, and others may have stepped up. All in all, it was slightly worrying to hear Cillian O'Connor is on the treatment table again because we certainly need his experience and leadership, not just for Saturday but for the Louth, Cork, and whatever other games may follow.
The Leinster final ended up being a duck shoot as Dublin scored a whopping 5-21 to Louth's 0-15, a 21-point mauling, which will have done no good for either team. You wouldn't have expected that result after watching the sloppiest first ten minutes of football I ever saw the Dubs involved in when it looked like both teams wanted to give the ball away as much as possible, but that's where you write Dublin off at your peril.
After Sam Mcilroy punched the air in delight to put Louth 0-3 to 0-2 ahead after 14 minutes, Dublin got their act together and went to town on Mickey Harte's team, scoring 1-10 without reply over the next fifteen minutes, to put the result beyond doubt with a full 45 minutes to play. I don't plan on changing my early season prediction of Dublin being crowned the 2023 All-Ireland champions just yet because they look untouchable in such form. The Leinster final result now means that the Connacht, Munster, and Ulster finals were won by a cumulative total of 49 points: Dublin by 21, Galway by 14, and Kerry by 14, total mismatches in every regard.
The Ulster final was a totally different story. The atmosphere was electric, and the passion unrivaled, and the result literally went down to the wire and was decided on penalty kicks. You could see what it meant to the players and managers at the end. All parties were elated as both were desperate to get their hands on the Anglo-Celt Cup. It was a tough week for the Derry footballers with the news that broke last week, but you have to give their players the ultimate commendation for keeping focused.
