The last two weeks was another great opportunity for both the Kerry and Dublin squads to reassess, prepare and enjoy. In this build-up, four key factors entered my head that both squads might have considered. The game context, the player needs, the unit alignment and the team plan. The two teams will have a well-trodden process of what works for them by now. Exactly that – what will work?
For some players, it will be their first All-Ireland experience. If you allow it, the build-up to a final could be all-consuming or even daunting. For instance, I recall last year Kerry’s Graham O’Sullivan mentioning that he experienced a panic attack in the lead up to the game.
However, the majority of the two squads will have been here before. This is where conversations between team members come into play. There is vast knowledge and experience in these two squads – particularly when it comes to All-Ireland finals – so it’s vital that insights are socialised. What to focus on, how to spend your time, ways to enjoy the occasion.
Senior leaders will have absorbed and dispersed some of that extra tension hanging around. For example, what way to handle ticket requests or how to manage questions from family and work colleagues. But at the same time, it’s important that everyone realises this isn’t drudgery. The joy here is profound. You have to allow yourself to absorb that.
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For a player, each road travelled is customised. Some will have amassed more than 15 hours of analysis for this game alone. Looking for one hidden detail. Others will go more off their gut feel. Either way, the end state is that you want to feel ready. Almost free of any concrete thoughts in your head when the ball is thrown up. No more analysis, no more recovery, no more meetings. Completely empowered. Show time.
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Individual approaches will differ. In some cases, differ significantly. Meaning that a range of emotions will be experienced right up to the moment you are running out of the Croke Park dressingroom and down the tunnel. Some players will be highly emotive, others will be zen-like. I have seen both work and transmit themselves to quality on the pitch minutes later.
Within the team itself you will have a variety of subunits all interlinked. Your leadership group, the defensive group, the offensive group, as well as kick-outs for and against. Each will have engaged over the past two weeks to contribute to some part of the game.
That means more than just the nuts and bolts of the game plan. For example, the respective leadership groups likely provided an informed opinion of what the postgame event should look like. On the pitch, senior players will go out with a three-pronged intention. The first two are innovating and executing, which are pretty self-explanatory. The third one is around environmental standards – keeping discipline and focus, ensuring habits are at their sharpest.
As for the teams themselves, both are well-oiled machines. Dublin have played eight championship games this year, Kerry have played seven. Fifteen games, 13 wins, one draw, one defeat. They have both demonstrated an ability to strategically position themselves in a variety of ways. Some days, blowing teams away with all their rapid quality. Other times, relying on their experience to pull them over the line.
That’s why the build-up to a final is mostly about reinforcing the information you have already embedded. You will tweak some focus towards the opposition. Like always, your target is to exploit opportunity while minimising potential risk.
One topic could be how Tadhg Morley plays an important role in the Kerry defence. In their build-up, there will be a discussion in their meetings as to how he strikes the balance of making sure his full-back line is covered and marking a Dublin player at centre forward (likely Paul Mannion) at the same time.
Or if he is marking in a play, how someone like Paul Murphy could easily become that covering player. And if Murphy covers does that leave a dangerous Dublin wing forward free? For both teams, there is both opportunity and risk in that situation.
On the Dublin side, there has probably been a discussion around exactly this. How can you disrupt their defensive cohesion to get in for crucial goals? Timing, communication, positioning – crucial factors that will play a big part for both teams in this case.
When you’re getting ready for a final, your plans cover lots of facets. If they do this, we will do that. On a Dublin kick out will Kerry put 13 players in Dublin’s half for example? Dublin will have experienced this in the past. If needed they will have several options they can go.
All players in a final are a massive threat. However, we know that certain players like David and Paudie Clifford, Con O’Callaghan and Cormac Costello will have extra attention from defenders. All four of these players have the power to tip the scales in their team’s favour very easily.
When I work with a variety of organisations it is often said that it’s your peers that promote you. Meaning it is those around you that give you the platform to excel to the top. For Kerry, their supply of ball to their potent inside line has the fingerprints of Shane Ryan, Tom O’Sullivan, Diarmuid O’Connor, Adrian Spillane and Seán O’Shea across most plays. Which is exactly the chain Dublin will want to disrupt.
For Kerry, one trend they realise now is that Dublin have been excelling in the third quarter. Depending on the exact context, what do they do here? For years when Kevin McManamon was preparing to come on, Kerry would make a substitution at the exact same time. They will think of something.
The know-how on the pitch will ultimately play the biggest part. Croke Park brings a unique volatility. This Sunday the players will aim to bring their palpable quality. In turn each collective will want to bring stability. Whichever team that is will deserve their reward.
My parting thoughts. I vividly notice the precision of lines in the grass – carefully cut in by Stuart Wilson and his grounds team. I hear the buzz descending towards the stadium. I sense the pride from row Z in section 701 in the Cusack. I notice the respect that the players have for each other.
Most of all I feel the love and care from friends, family, fans and clubmates. All backing their heroes to soar highest.
