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Cats lead 92-81, 5 mins left

86-81

12 in it, 10 mins left

If Dublin get to the final there will be many genuine fans who won't get a ticket. I don't know what the situation is like in other counties, but if Dublin get to the All-Ireland final, I am going to have the father and mother of a job getting a ticket. In 1995 I was extremely lucky to get one from a friend in Limerick after drawing a blank from the club. In '92 I got two from the club, and in '94 got three - a bonanza almost. Somehow I think this year will be more difficult if Dublin are there. Last year wouldn't have been a problem as I had a Parnell Park pass then, but I didn't renew it this year. i'm beginning to regret that decision now. Sunday won't be a problem, there will be tickets floating around in the pubs outside Croke Park. Apart from All-Ireland finals, there always is.

Sure don't we all know Kerry always beat Dublin.

Dublin queens with turnip and four rashers of galtee with salt, pepper and a big knob of butter with brown sauce.

Sounds like a David Norris special!

I seem to remember Mark Vaughan recovering fairly quickly from the fractured cheekbone he got the night of Dubin v Mayo Semi-Final last year so hopefully Drico should be fine.

Jinxy I don't think it's that much of a leap to say that the cream of their game would make it at ours when you see the speed at which the like of Martin Clarke and Colm Begley have adapted to their game. IMO the difficulty in adapting to Aussie Rules for a Gaelic footballer is still greater than vice versa. I'll grant you that the proposal from Richmond is a bit of an insult though.

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This some post from a newbie with 3 posts
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I've been posting intermittently on here since 2004 with a couple of different handles (although never with more than one at a time, unlike some people I suspect) and lurking since about 2000. It's very true that there's a different geographical spread on this board to AFR, but back around 2003/2004 there was still an overwhelmingly Northern bias to many of the posts here, just that the content back then was better imo. Many of the regular and more considered posters such as Wobbler, GBB, Hardy, Rufus, even O'Neill etc are still here but overall I'd stand by my opinion that this board has gone downhill.

Clearly we are the best, but are there many other GAA boards like this with a decent membership that Allen's referencing?

This used to be the best forum, but An Fear Rua has pulled comfortably ahead now. The standard of contributions has gone steadily downhill in the last couple of years.

An australian, with no background in our game, could not make it at our game. certainly their fitness is more than adequate but the nuances of playing the game are so different from the afl. it would take a top level professional from the afl two years to get his skills and understanding of the game to a level where he could compete for a place on a county panel.

You can't be serious. If the likes of Nathan Buckley, Nathan Brown, Daniel Kerr or many others who have played International Rules and showed up our players' skills over the years took up Gaelic Football, they would walk onto any county panel. Many of these guys are supreme ball players who would easily adapt.

To me the biggest x-factor is whether Kerry will have the hunger needed to get through a game like this. The reason Sam hasn't been retained since 1990 is usually that somewhere along the line in a match, the champions suddenly realise that the hunger just isn't there. How many All-Ireland champions since 1990 have gone out by turning in flat, anaemic performances. Most of them. Think Cork '91, Down '92 and '95, Dublin '96, Kerry '98, Galway '99, Meath '00, Kerry '01, Galway '02, Tyrone '04 and '06. In their last two games Kerry have just about got there. There are signs that the savage hunger needed to win the All-Ireland may not be there this year. However we won't know if this is true until about ten minutes into the second half on Sunday week.

Regardless of whether Kerry have the hunger, I expect Dublin to really put it up to them this time, it is a much better team than the ones that lost in 2001 and 2004.  But there still can be no argument that man for man ability-wise, Kerry are a better team. Logical analysis points to a victory for them.

If Kerry don't have the hunger on the day, Dublin could over-run them and this is their best chance. But the assumption has to be that Kerry will have the hunger, although I don't think they are as good a team as last year, especially with the loss of Moynihan and McCarthy.

Donaghy mightn't have been brilliant against Monaghan, but for all that he still created a goal, had a legitimate one disallowed himself and flashed another one wide with the goal at his mercy. It's a huge ask of a rookie full back like Ross McConnell, who had problems with Eoin Bradley against Derry to keep Donaghy under control. Dublin's main problem defensively this year in my opinion has been the loose marking of Bryan Cullen. Against both Laois and Derry the defence was wide open up the middle at times and with greyhounds like Eoin Brosnan and Sean O'Sullivan in the half forward line this could spell disaster. Possibly a "sweeper" might be employed between the full-back and half-back lines? Failure to sort this problem may well result in killer goals. Then there is the Gooch to think about. Paul Casey is another disaster waiting to happen in the half back line. Dublin have a chance of winning but a lot of things have to go right. I expect them to play it extremely physical right from the start similar to Tyrone in 2003.

If  Kerry have the hunger, I'd tip them by about 3 or 4 points. If not, Dublin to win.