By Seamus Leonard
Sunday's Bank of Ireland SFC final sees an all-Munster pairing for the first time ever, as Cork and Kerry bring their provincial rivalry to the national stage.
Peversely, such a historic and closely-matched encounter has brought the most low-key build-up in recent history.
True, they are two of the game's giants, but imagine the hype if the Dubs, or even Meath, had made it as far as the third Sunday in September.
There are many that take umbrage to such hype before games and sometimes it does get out of hand. However, it is a strange day when, according to former Cork centre-back Stephen O'Brien on this week's 'The Road to Croker' show, those in The People's Republic have to be encouraged to get their colours and bunting out.
Not that all this will affect the Cork footballers one little bit. They are well used to living in the long shadow cast by their hurling cousins, especially since 1999. The Rebel County had an interest in both All-Ireland deciders that year, but only the Liam McCarthy Cup made the trip down to Leeside.
Billy Morgan's men can never be accused of being an overnight success. Three successive All-Ireland semi-final appearances point to the fact that this team has been building towards this for some time.
The side is formed around a physically strong spine. They have one of the best defences around, with the excellent Graham Canty at full-back. The loss of wing-back Anthony Lynch to a broken hand is an unfortunate blow, but at least they have had a week to plan for his absence.
Morgan is lucky in that he can bring John Miskella back from his spell in the forwards, so the disruption to the half-back line will be minimal.
In their semi-final, Cork were able to nullify the effectiveness of a Meath full-forward line that had been grabbing headlines all summer. Kerry have Colm 'Gooch' Cooper and Kieran Donaghy close to goal, but there are still doubts as to whether they are firing on all cylinders. On the plus side for the Kingdom, Bryan Sheehan has made a name for himself this summer, dislodging Mike Frank Russell in the process. It could be that Cork will have to worry more about Sheehan than the other two.
The tussle of the day may well be between Cork wing-back Noel O'Leary and Kerry half-forward Paul Galvin. To say they are both fiery characters would be an understatement. The two of them could, and maybe should, have been sent-off in their respective semi-finals.
O'Leary was especially fortunate after he struck Graham Geraghty. He has already served a suspension this season and really needs to keep a lid on it on Sunday. Ironically, both managers might independently decide that it is not worth putting the pair in direct opposition to each other. Galvin has been given the number 10 jersey, rather than his usual 12, so we might be spared/denied the fireworks.
Cork centre-back Ger Spillane has a tough task ahead of him. The Ballygarvan man could end up marking Eoin Brosnan, or Kerry might leave Declan O'Sullivan to keep tabs on him - like they did on Dublin's Bryan Cullen in the semi-final. Either way, Spillane, who is fond of getting up the field, will have his work cut out for him.
Midfield will be a war zone on Sunday. Kerry took Dublin to the cleaners the last day and Darren Magee's late introduction for the Metropolitans as a third midfielder was too little, too late.
It is possible that both Cussen and Donaghy will be brought out to add their height to the situation. If that proves to be the case, it is difficult to gauge which team it will suit more. You would expect Cork to catch more clean ball, but Kerry could benefit from their ability to secure the breaks.
One crucial factor could be Kerry boss Pat O'Shea's perseverance with Seamus Scanlon in the engine room. Scanlon had a poor game against Monaghan and his shooting was woeful against Dublin. One can only assume that Tommy Griffin has not got 70 minutes in him and O'Shea prefers to hold the Dingle man back for his impact sub qualities.
Many observers, this one included, predicted that Cork would not be able to defeat Meath without James Masters. We were wrong. Horribly wrong. Cork, with the exception of the aforementioned Masters, may not have household names up front, but they are an effective, cohesive unit. They work hard for one another and understand each other's game, which more than makes up for their lack of box office attraction.
Aidan O'Mahony has made the number six jersey his own for Kerry and he will need to replicate something close to his Man of the Match performance of last year's final. Pearse O'Neill does not have the guile of Ciaran McDonald, but his high-fielding and link play pose a serious threat.
Masters has made a remarkable recovery from the broken jaw he incurred in the quarter-final against Sligo. However, you always got the sense that if Cork were able to get past Meath, they would get him back for the final.
It would be asking a lot for him to be back at his best by Sunday. However, his dead ball prowess and eye for goal mean Morgan simply had to take the risk. His presence should also give the Rebels a psychological boost.
This, of course, is these sides' second Championship meeting in 2007. Kerry came with a late burst to win the Munster final by two points in Killarney, but it was Cork who arguably took more from the game.
They did struggle against Louth and Sligo, but were brilliant against Meath, suggesting they have learned how to produce the goods when necessary.
Kerry have had the tougher route in the All-Ireland series. They were not great against Monaghan, but some of the criticism they received in the aftermath did not take into account how good the Farney were on the day.
Kerry then took care of Dublin, but that game did more to prove that Dublin were not good enough to win an All-Ireland than it did to show the Kingdom have what it takes to become the first side this century to win back-to-back Sam Maguires.
There is little enough between these old foes, but Cork's hunger, allied to Morgan's tactical nous, may just tip the scales.
Verdict: Cork
