The Leinster Senior Football Championship hasn't stirred the emotions of neutral spectators for some time.
New year, same old story, with Dublin steamrolling all in front of them. The Ulster and Connacht Championships have so much more unpredictability about them.
This evening, Kildare have an opportunity to cause a storm.
Things have returned to norm for Dublin in the championship so far; a 23-point win over Wexford and 13-point win over Meath.
They have reverted to the majority of the personnel that won an All-Ireland in 2020, with the exception of Tom Lahiff, Lorcan O’Dell and Lee Gannon.
I’m sure the Kildare camp will be working with the belief that under the surface there has to be a doubt in the Dublin players' minds. For the capital, the 2021 Championship and the 2022 Allianz League did not go as planned.
Losses create self doubt and can lead to division and discontent. Time and wins are the only thing that can heal the wounds. Have Dublin had enough time to heal their wounds?
The Leinster Championship hasn’t been kind to Kildare in recent years.
2021 - 8-point loss to Dublin
2020 - lost to Meath, conceding 5 goals
2019 - 15-point loss to Dublin
2018 - 7-point loss to Carlow
Taking all that into account, Dublin have to be favourites but if Kildare can get a number of things right we could be in for a game to remember.
Get the small stuff right
Both teams will be hard-working, very fit and athletic, both will have effective kick-out strategies. The biggest factor that will influence the game will be the error count. From the throw in, Kildare have to keep the errors down and get the small stuff right. Stay in the game, keep the ball, be positive on the ball, take every scoring chance, keep pressure on Dublin’s main ball carriers and no silly frees.
These might seem like simple things but are the real factors that will effect the direction of the game.
Consistency
Relegation to Division 2 may suggest that Kildare had a poor overall league. It must be noted that they were only one win off finishing in third place in Division 1. So, on balance, the league would have been positive.
The big take home from the Allianz League for Kildare is that they can compete with the top teams. Victories over Dublin and Monaghan and a draw against Kerry were impressive. While they were beaten by Donegal and Armagh, the games were really close. The final league game against Mayo was the only day that Kildare were off the pace.
Being competitive and staying in games with the best teams in the country is the best way for a team to grow in belief and self confidence. The long-awaited win over Dublin in Newbridge will have given all the players huge belief. In previous years, Kildare teams went into games against Dublin hoping that they might win but now they are preparing knowing that they have beaten them just three months ago.
Leadership
At present, there is a nice blend of youth and experience. The likes of Fergal Conway, David Hyland, Daniel Flynn, Mark Donnellan, Paul Cribbin, Kevin Feely and Kevin Flynn have been playing for years.
Mick O'Grady is an on-field leader that stands out for me in the Kildare team. I remember him as a light, quick footed, raw defender that first joined the senior panel at a training camp in Fota Island in 2013. He was a sponge, wanting the learn all the time. It hasn’t been all plain sailing for him.
He missed his final exams in university due to an injury sustained at Kildare training. He stuck at it, went back to college and continued to work hard for Kildare. Mick has developed into an excellent on-field communicator. He is a role model for any young player.
The 2018 U20 All-Ireland winning team have a real presence in the senior squad now. Aaron O’Neill, Aaron Masterson, Tony Archibold, Jimmy Hyland, Paddy Woodgate and Brian McLoughlin experienced underage success and bring with them an element of belief and expectation that they can compete with all other counties.
A special mention has to be given to the Kildare management team. Glen Ryan, Anthony Rainbow, Dermot Earley and Johnny Doyle have played and seen so much football. They have experienced good and bad days for Kildare, Carlow and Longford. These guys are real football heroes. The knowledge and experience they bring to team meetings, training sessions, mentoring players and in game is immeasurable.
Impact players
It is a given that teams need to start games well but the way the game has evolved teams now must have a bench strong enough to make an impact in the latter stages of games. In previous years, Kildare haven't had the depth of player to make substitutions that could change a game's direction.
Things look different in 2022, Neil Flynn, Fergal Conway, Alex Beirne, Aaron Masterson, Brian McLoughlin, and David Hyland have all made big impacts coming into games.
Glen Ryan will be able to confidently make changes as needed knowing he has real quality to come in.
Attacking threat
Kildare have traditionally had teams that boasted athletic, mobile players that were comfortable carrying the ball and supporting team-mates off the shoulder. Scores often came from intricate passing moves with large reliance on hand-passing and support runs.
Half-backs, midfielders and the entire forwards would all undertake hard running to create a scoring chance. Huge effort that often led to little reward.
Now, Kildare have individual talent that can make things happen in 1 on 1 situations. Darragh Kirwan, Ben McCormack and Jimmy Hyland are all able to win their own ball.
When in possession, they have pace, skill and an eye for kicking scores. Collectively, they have racked up 2-21 from play in two championship games.
Daniel Flynn stands out as being unmarkable when he is on form. He has size, speed, strength and skill in abundance. I first met him as a Leaving Cert student in 2013. I couldn’t believe the ability he had. He has shown in patches what a special talent he is, now the challenge is to perform consistently on the big day.
If all these forwards can click together, they will be hard to handle for any team.
Perfect storms have happened in sport and will happen again. Kildare will be hoping it all comes together for them this evening.
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