The build-up to the weekend's semi-finals has been fairly muted and low key so far.
I sense the level of buzz and anticipation is pretty slack, although admittedly that's from my own perch in Westport. Interest levels are down around my way for obvious reasons.
Is some of it down to the general public regarding the two games as a forgone conclusion?
That narrative has been hard to ignore since the quarter-finals, when Dublin and Kerry overcame their early season sluggishness to smash old rivals by a combined 24 points.
I read Dessie Mone had branded the commentary around Monaghan as 'disrespectful' though based on the evidence of the quarter-finals, it's hard to construct an argument for anything other than a Dublin-Kerry decider.
That's not to say the Ulster duo aren't dangerous opponents, particularly Derry, who are, lest we forget, after going back-to-back up north.
In a certain sense, that's a lovely position for both Derry and Monaghan to be in. One can easily imagine them seething in the dressing room at the presumption out there the weekend is a mere formality for Kerry and the Dubs. It's very easy to foster a Tyrone-like siege mentality in that context.
You can imagine both camps will go hard on the 'no-one-is-giving-us-a-chance' narrative. Hunger isn't likely to be lacking.
The big poser here is - have Derry evolved over the course of the last 12 months?
In 2022, they bounded into the last-four on the back of a blockbuster quarter-final display against Clare. Then, after a bright start against Galway in the semis, they completely flopped in the second half.
The limitations of their attacking approach became apparent after they went behind and were only able to rustle up a dismal tally of 1-06, the goal coming in the dying seconds of injury-time.
In the year since, their game has developed, especially their sophistication in attack. They attack and defend as a unit and players aren't as inclined to get isolated up front.
Their runners from deep have been a consistent menace - see Conor McCluskey driving forward continually against Donegal - and the ball carrier invariably has a support runner off the shoulder.
However, I still feel they don't take enough risks in possession. The teams that are coming to the fore are those inclined to kick more early ball into the forwards, eschewing the lateral, ponderous hand-passing game that predominated for too long during the summer.
There's also some alarm at Shane McGuigan's underwhelming quarter-final performance. He's been one of the most reliable and consistent forwards in the game for the past 18 months at least but his influence from general play against Cork was minimal. He was confined to just five points from frees. If that's repeated on Sunday, then Derry will surely have to fold up the tent.
In contrast to last year, they enter this year's semi after a poor quarter-final display. The Cork match was a snore and John Cleary's side had their opportunities - opportunities that Kerry will not pass up.
It's imperative they're not chasing the game early on. That will allow Kerry to sit back and allow Clifford, O'Shea et al to exploit the space up front. They'll be picked off at will.
The Ulster champions have had a lot thrown at them in 2023. They've had the saga over Rory Gallagher's withdrawal from the set-up, the situation surrounding Ciaran McFaul's assault trial in the States. And yet they haven't been blown off course.
They've developed a formidable winning habit in the past few years but they need to deliver their most complete performance yet to take down a Kerry side hitting peak form.
We all - well, me at any rate - have written off Monaghan from the beginning of the year. But they're the cat with nine lives. You have to give Vinnie Corey huge credit. What a job he's done in his first year in charge, especially seeing as he was appointed so late in the day last year.
I know Monaghan lads are heartily sick of references to their size and the population difference between them and the other elite teams - it's probably key to their success that they don't consider such factors.
In a sense, Roscommon probably offered the template on how to play Dublin, though that was a Dublin team in fairly sluggish, lethargic mode back in the group phase. The purists hated the infamous bout of keep-ball, though it served to frustrate the Dubs and the Rossies wrestled a draw out of it.
Monaghan are a possession-based team themselves and they're unlikely to deviate from that. Expect to see them nurse possession for long periods if things are going to plan. But Dublin's pressure play in the third quarter against Mayo indicates that this is also an approach fraught with danger.
One issue is that Monaghan do give up chances. They did the last day out but Armagh were profligate and were again far too cagey for their own good (I still feel McGeeney and co will be kicking themselves over that quarter-final).
The problem for Monaghan is that Dublin will punish that ruthlessly. The 15 minutes after half-time against Mayo were scary. They went for the throat and didn't let up. They're back in the hunger zone, as it were.
Chief in that endeavour was their captain James McCarthy. The weekend could be a good one to celebrate the old-timers. We've Conor McManus on one side, McCarthy on the other on Saturday, both of whom were absolutely central to the quarter-final victories.
(I was going to note with pleasure that both were born in the '80s, though it turns out that McCarthy was born in the 90s, just about.)
In the clutch moments those guys stood up. McManus to engineer that free in the final play with everything on the line. That he would nail it himself afterwards felt almost like a formality. He can't have long left in his career but will go down as a bona fide legend, one of the greatest kickers of the ball in the sport.
It was McCarthy who drove Dublin forward after a so-so first half against Mayo. Right from the throw in after half-time, he played with snarl and aggression, bulling forward relentlessly. They've Cluxton back in goals but McCarthy is one of the key leaders in the team.
He's one of the guys with eight All-Irelands. He's gunning for the record and after a two-year gap, this one will probably the sweetest of them all, if they get there.
