RTÉ GAA analyst Enda McGinley has said that Tyrone are starting to find some unity at the key stage of the season as they prepare to take on Kerry in Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final.
The Red Hands will enter the Croke Park clash against the All-Ireland champions as underdogs, but also with a history of claiming Kingdom scalps in seismic games during McGinley’s era, including two All-Ireland finals and a semi-final.
The Errigal Ciaran man saw flashes in the All-Ireland group stage win over Armagh, and Saturday night’s emphatic win over Donegal was another step in the right direction.
"I was really impressed with their first 20 minutes against Armagh. I thought, for the first time this year, they looked like a team with a great unity and purpose, a team that really had a sense about what they’re about," McGinley told the RTÉ GAA Podcast.
"Up in Ballybofey against Donegal, that certainly came out further.
"Their full-back line is in top, top form, half-back line going really, really well and midfield is going really, really well.
"The inside men are clicking in a way that we probably haven’t had in a while, so all of those things look right.
"We could have quite realistically had another 1-03, 1-04, 1-05 in that game and come out with a really handsome win.
"Would that have done us any good whatsoever? No. In fact, I would have said it would have left us worse off. There’s a feeling that there’s more to come, which is exactly the way you want to be approaching the game against Kerry.
"It’s just about backing it up, we have not had back-to-back performances. The Kerry [league] performance remains their best performance of the year for me and it’s whether they can back that up and raise it again because they obviously have to.
"The biggest caveat coming out of Ballybofey is the level of their opposition. Donegal obviously seem to have recovered a wee bit but were they really at that level? It’s very, very hard to tell."
O'ROURKE STEPS DOWN AS DONEGAL MANAGER
Even with that uptick in performances, McGinley still feels that the four-time All-Ireland champions will be exposed to a particularly difficult afternoon should they fail to hit top form.
"They did very much spring a massive performance in the league which sort of paid into this thing that Tyrone do up it for Kerry.
"I've said it before, but that’s out of where we see Kerry and where Kerry are. Tyrone love coming in being a bit written off, those bookies’ odds will work absolutely fine with the Tyrone mindset; they want to come in and feel as if they have to give absolutely everything.
"Then they’re in the game, and as long as they can get themselves into the game [but] if Tyrone produce the level that they’ve produced at times this year and Kerry produce what they can produce, you could end up with a turkey-shoot.
"Kerry have enough power up there and Tyrone have been flaky enough for it to be a comfortable win for Kerry.
"I'm really hopeful that the Tyrone boys do bring everything they’ve got, they’re going to need it to take down Kerry.
"Those are the best wins, those are the games you want to take part in, certainly for Tyrone players you really pride yourself on that.
"They showed enough against Donegal that I think they are clicking. If you go through the lines in their team, they are 80, 90% there to having a really phenomenal unit at the minute.
"Forwards are coming in on form which is absolutely key. Can they produce the big one? They are now going to have to.
"Kerry’s midfield, for me, on long kick-outs is their Achilles' heels at the minute. One of Tyrone’s form-lines is their midfield. That’s going to be a key thing, how Jack [O’Connor] tries to nullify that and how Kerry can up their game in that department.
"That is the key battleground for me in terms of how that game goes."
We're down to the final eight now in the race for Sam Maguire and with a big name in Galway already out and two of Kerry, Tyrone, Mayo and Dublin to exit this weekend, McGinley said that we could be in for a special championship finale.
"It used to be in the old days when a team reached this stage there was a real sheen off a couple of teams because they were perfect.
"The buses that are coming through, these wagons that everyone loves jumping on, well now they're a bit battered and bruised at this stage but it’s nearly all the better for it.
"The season is that long and convoluted now that there’s been a bit of a hit off everybody, everybody’s been involved in a bit of a car crash.
"The buses that are coming through, these wagons that everyone loves jumping on, well now they’re a bit battered and bruised at this stage but it’s nearly all the better for it.
"Every team has had weaknesses pointed out so every other team will be wanting to get after those weaknesses.
"There’s nobody perfect there and that means flaws are exposed, it’s a very real and raw looking championship."
Watch the All-Ireland quarter-finals on Sunday, Derry v Cork and Dublin v Mayo on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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