It says a lot about these two teams that every Gael in the country could rhyme off their starting teams and subs without even a cursory glance for help.
These are the two best sides in Ireland. They’re the two most familiar. The two most consistent. The household counties, if you will.
And, after drawing two of their last four championship clashes against one another, Sunday’s All-Ireland final is set to be a clinker.
How they will line up is one of the most intriguing aspects though.
Dublin’s team is probably a little more predictable even if they do have a stronger bench but Mayo’s is more versatile and Rochford is more prone to a little gamble here and there too. He just loves it. Not that he doesn’t get it right sometimes.
Here’s how both sides will probably match up on Sunday.
Some things pop out from that so we’ll go through it one by one.
- Paddy Andrews is the danger man inside and Brendan Harrison is Mayo’s best marker so this makes sense.
- Keith Higgins marking Paul Mannion is a natural fit because he has the pace and, when Mannion drifts, Higgins will look to bomb on.
- Lee Keegan could be detailed to introduce Con O’Callaghan to the big time and really knock the wind out of his sails.
- Colm Boyle could also do that job but he has done well on Ciaran Kilkenny in the past.
- If it’s Paul Flynn or Eric Lowndes or Niall Scully, Donal Vaughan is going to look to take them for a ride up the pitch.
- Mayo could try to free up Aidan O’Shea away from the clutches of Philly McMahon but Dublin won’t allow that to happen.
- Cian O’Sullivan would therefore pick up Diarmuid O’Connor so he could sweep when he drops and would fancy picking him up man on man.
Now, of course, there are other ways it could pan out especially as the game develops.
Dublin might want to keep O’Sullivan free.
That would leave O’Shea free if he plays out the field but how much do Mayo want to give Dublin the sweeper?
They could really mix things up, throw O’Shea inside and force the Dublin defenders into detailed assignments.
The problem with putting O’Shea into full forward is that he has been swallowed up in there against Dublin too often and he’s been too important out the field this season.
Lee Keegan plays in the forward line.
Just like he did against Kerry, Keegan could be offered up in order to gain something somewhere else.
Not only would his presence on the Dublin 45′ put the shits up the capital and force all the defenders to be occupied, it would free up Aidan O’Shea and he could be brought into midfield to man the very real threat of James McCarthy.
To pull that off, Paddy Durcan would have to start and Seamus O’Shea would lose out but Rochford will more than likely want the Castlebar wing back in reserve to make an impact off the bench.
The match-ups are debated in a brilliant GAA Hour show (from 50:53).
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