Dublin v Kerry AI final 20th September 2015

[INDIANA]

Its hard to see where the optimism for a Dublin win is coming from.

When you match both sides up Kerry have the edge.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

Kerry will push up and force us to kick long.............. They have the best midfield pairing in the land, huge task but not impossible

Any news on Cian Sullivan, pulled up with the Hamie, hopefully just cramp

[DUBSFORSAM1]

Its hard to see where the optimism for a Dublin win is coming from.

When you match both sides up Kerry have the edge.

What have Kerry done in the championship this season that is worrying to show they can't be beaten?

[Syferus]

Kerry will push up and force us to kick long.............. They have the best midfield pairing in the land, huge task but not impossible

Any news on Cian Sullivan, pulled up with the Hamie, hopefully just cramp

The space Kerry will leave in their back line when they push up will be heaven for the Dublin forwards. Five goals over two games against a better Mayo FB line that rarely utilised the spare man to push up on Cluxton.

[INDIANA]

Kerry will push up and force us to kick long.............. They have the best midfield pairing in the land, huge task but not impossible

Any news on Cian Sullivan, pulled up with the Hamie, hopefully just cramp

The space Kerry will leave in their back line when they push up will be heaven for the Dublin forwards. Five goals over two games against a better Mayo FB line that rarely utilised the spare man to push up on Cluxton.

Space is only exploited if you have the ball. With their midfield we may not see much of it

[Seamus]

One thing for certain, Kerry will push up and do so without exposing the backline. Stephen Cluxton can become frustrated and erratic as evident in the past so it's a must for Kerry. This is the winning and losing of the game. On the other side I expect Dublin to allow Kerry go short and attack them at base, should be an intriguing contest.

[Rossfan]

Spooferus writing off Kerry again I see.
Probably thinks any team that bet his favourite Rhubarbs must be great altogether

[Syferus]

Spooferus writing off Kerry again I see.
Probably thinks any team that bet his favourite Rhubarbs must be great altogether

Yeah. I'm sorry. That Kerry back line looks stellar. I really don't see how substandard players like Kilkenny, Brogan and Connolly will be able to score on them.

The only question for me is Dublin getting enough of the ball to capitalise on their matchup advantages up front.

[INDIANA]

Spooferus writing off Kerry again I see.
Probably thinks any team that bet his favourite Rhubarbs must be great altogether

Yeah. I'm sorry. That Kerry back line looks stellar. I really don't see how substandard players like Kilkenny, Brogan and Connolly will be able to score on them.

The only question for me is Dublin getting enough of the ball to capitalise on their matchup advantages up front.

You don't think James O Donghue has an advantage over Cooper ? Fair enough!

Cian O Sullivan is struggling to be fit for the final

[Syferus]

Spooferus writing off Kerry again I see.
Probably thinks any team that bet his favourite Rhubarbs must be great altogether

Yeah. I'm sorry. That Kerry back line looks stellar. I really don't see how substandard players like Kilkenny, Brogan and Connolly will be able to score on them.

The only question for me is Dublin getting enough of the ball to capitalise on their matchup advantages up front.

You don't think James O Donghue has an advantage over Cooper ? Fair enough!

Cian O Sullivan is struggling to be fit for the final

Never said that. Just that Dublin have more match-up advantages. Dublin's defence isn't great but it is better than Kerry's so what I see is one team having a better defence and a better attack than the other. Only frailties in the middle can derail Dublin in the final. I assume Fitzmaurice will try to apply the pressure to Cluxton that Connelly/Holmes didn't bother with given those circumstances.

[Bord na Mona man]

Dubs need to be careful about the backchat. I'm sure Gavin spent all last week drilling home the message about dissent, but yet again they had 2 Mayo frees move into very scoreable territory for that same offence.
It could be the losing of a tight final.

[rrhf]

for kerry this represents a stepping stone in reclaiming the team of the decade title for the first time since the 1980s,, and who would bet against them..fair play to them..

[AZOffaly]

for kerry this represents a stepping stone in reclaiming the team of the decade title for the first time since the 1980s,, and who would bet against them..fair play to them..

Yawn.

[AZOffaly]

It's going to be a fascinating final, and I think there'll be space. I think Dublin should try run a bit more through the middle against Kerry. MDMC would wreak havoc there on a gallop, Fenton looks like he likes to do that, and the likes of McCaffery should be ideal for it too.

I don't think the direct ball in all the time will work, because I actually think the Kerry FB line match up fairly well 1 v 1. Paul Murphy will probably pick up Brogan, Enright on Rock (if he keeps his place) and O'Se on Andrews. I think Kerry can be exploited through the middle, and Diarmuid Connolly should have too much for Lyne. Crowley isn't a real stopper sort of centre back, and Killian Young would have his hands full with Flynn (if Flynn can get a performance out of himself). Either way, that half back line won't want to be run at, and Maher/Moran will not want to be expending energy towards their own goals.

For Kerry's part, I expect them to have joy as well up front. They will, surely, try to get Cluxton to kick long. They've done well on his kickouts in the past and I think they'll pressure them again. I expect Gooch to operate out around the 40 and try pull the strings. Connolly or Flynn won't deploy as sweepers, so there should be a bit of space for him to try and pick a pass. O'Donoghue and Geaney (say) will fancy 1 v 1 on anyone in the country. I could see Donaghy starting to try and pressure O'Carroll, but I think that limits Kerry. I think he'll be sprung from the bench.

It should be a great game, and I expect it to overshadow the hurling to be honest.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Fascinating is right and the build up will see some amount of speculation.

Will Cian O'Sullivan be fit to start?
Does Rock keep his place? Kerry will cough up more scorable frees than Mayo did but Rock's rock solid dependability from frees disappeared over the course of both games. With Cluxton looking like he's carrying an injury will Connolly take long range ones?
Do Kerry push up on the kickouts? For me they mark tight enough inside to ensure they don't go short but be ready to belt it back outside for the breaking ball. Outside they mark zonally to discourage those runs.
How do Kerry play against Dublin's sweeper? I'd agree with AZ and keep Donaghy on the bench, kick to the corners for O'Donoghue and Geaney.
Do Kerry zonally defend the scoring zone or do they track the runners like Philly Mc through it?
Can Dublin manage to get more ball to their inside line? By dropping a man back they are struggling to  turn balls over in the middle third.

Will be a lot of tossing and turning in both camps over the next couple of weeks.