This year could be the first time that the All Star football selection features players from just two counties.
All-Ireland champions Dublin and beaten finalists Mayo proved themselves to be miles ahead of the chasing pack in 2017.
In the Sunday Game team of the season, the experts picked players from three counties - seven apiece from the finalists plus Kerry’s Paul Geaney at full-forward.
When the All Star selectors sit down to pick their final selection next month they will be thinking very much along the same lines, though Geaney could well miss out.
Realistically, Geaney and Tyrone’s Peter Harte and Colm Cavanagh are the only players from outside of Mayo and Dublin who will come into the serious reckoning. There is a chance that none of them will make the final cut.
Cavanagh saw action in defence, as a sweeper, but was invariably picked in midfield, where the competition includes James McCarthy, Brian Fenton and Tom Parsons.
Harte has been nominated amongst the forwards this year, with his likely designation in the half-forwards, so he will find himself in a queue featuring, in no particular order, Con O’Callaghan, Aidan O’Shea, Jason Doherty and Ciaran Kilkenny.
Geaney was the Kingdom’s outstanding performer this summer, with his free-scoring single-handedly keeping them in their drawn and replayed All-Ireland semi-final with Mayo.
Andy Moran and Paul Mannion seem nailed on for two of the spots in the inside line, meaning the final place is a shoot-out between Geaney, Dean Rock and, perhaps, Jason Doherty. That’s far from a foregone conclusion.
The All Star scheme started in 1971 and every year bar 2005 there has been at the very least four counties represented, and often a fair few more than that.
In ’05 All-Ireland champions Tyrone got eight All Stars, beaten finalists Kerry four and Armagh, who lost to the Red Handers County in the semi-final having beaten them in a replayed Ulster decider, got three.
The fact that there’s a serious chance that only two counties could be represented is a reflection of this year’s Senior Football Championship.
Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone all walked out of their respective
virtually unopposed. Galway beat Mayo, but then lost to Roscommon in the Connacht final.
The Rossies put up a good show in their drawn All-Ireland quarter-final with Mayo, though the chances of any of Kevin McStay’s team winning an All Star were blown out of the water with a 4-19 to 0-09 replay demolition.
Tyrone easily won their All-Ireland quarter-final with Armagh, but all of Mickey Harte’s players were harshly judged following their semi-final hammering by the Dubs.
Kerry didn’t have much opposition before they faced Mayo and they could have won the first of their two-part All-Ireland semi-final with Mayo, but the Kingdom were well beaten in the replay and this weakened many of their players’ cases.
Dublin weren’t tested until the final, which they won 1-17 to 1-16 thanks to a stoppage time free from Dean Rock, though the put in some stellar performances over the summer.
Mayo had a shaky start to their Championship and it took then nine games just to reach an All-Ireland final - a joint-record with Meath 1991 and Tyrone 2005 - but they were impressive from the second Roscommon game on.
With the dust starting to settle on the 2017 season it seems that the top four, Dublin, Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone, no longer exists and that this year it was a top two - the Dubs and Mayo, with the Kingdom and Red Hand a fair bit behind and then everyone else.
