10 reasons why Dublin v Mayo is bigger than Leinster v Munster
On paper, a round six Division 1 fixture doesn’t register alongside a top of the table RaboDirect Pro12 game between Leinster and Munster, coming just a week before their respective Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
But then what is on offer in Croke Park is the first meeting since last September of last year’s two best football teams.
Both on TV, the clash of start times brings to focus Dublin’s “Blue Wave” strategy review plan which hit out at Leinster for what they believed was the annexing of the hue of their jersey.
It read: “We can’t copyright a colour but the subliminal exploitation of Dublin’s unique sporting hue by our competitors has not gone unnoticed.
“Mutual respect is essential in Irish sport yet the appeal of a flourishing professional franchise is still a real challenge in the struggle for hearts and minds in Dublin while the demographic shift continues to distort traditional values and interests.
“Our blue affords Dublin GAA the greatest potential to evolve as the flagship brand of commercial sport in Ireland. Successful implementation of our strategy will also reinforce the fact that Dublin is GAA Country.”
Leinster responded by saying they were surprised at the tone and timing of the document while it put Bryan Cullen, the county’s 2011 All-Ireland winning captain and Leinster sub-academy fitness coach, in an awkward position. Any time his occupation has been brought up in interviews, he’s politely declined comment.
The rugby season may be close to its end as the inter-county GAA one, for the likes of Dublin and Mayo anyway you would imagine, is not yet halfway through. But here are 10 reasons why events in Dublin 3 on Saturday are as just as significant as those across the Liffey in Dublin 4.
The All-Ireland champions lost just one game in their entire 2013 league and Championship programme but are coming off a second defeat, having lost away to Derry after being beaten by Cork in round three. Jim Gavin may have tried over 30 players so far this term but failure to reach the semi-finals would be a disappointment.
With three wins on the bounce, the championship runners-up for the last two seasons grace Croke Park for the first time since another September afternoon to forget.
It’s a habit of Mayo to get one back on the teams that beat them in finals in the following year’s league. In both 2005 and 2007, they beat Kerry and last year they defeated Donegal.
Who’s the purist of them all? Gavin put his side’s cynical fouling in the final moments of last year’s final down to frustration and claimed they were not only facing Mayo but referee Joe McQuillan too.
James Horan called his opposite number out, reminding he had said he’d step down if his team was cynical. Gavin’s actual quote was: “I would be loathe to think anyone would say Dublin are cynical. I would take a step back if that was the case.”
Neither side has fallen too foul of the black card but Dublin’s discipline has been questionable with three straight red cards picked up over the O’Byrne Cup and league so far.
They have scored more than any other team in Division 1, almost three times as many as Dublin. But for Ken O’Halloran, they could have found more than the four they bagged against Cork last day out. And yet the inside forward line is seen as their major weakness. Saturday might not be the time they prove people wrong but it might present an indication they could.
If Dublin are going to improve their uncharacteristically poor goal return of three in five games, will find them against Mayo, who have conceded just as many as they have scored with 10.
Although Ciarán Kilkenny is out for the season, Gavin likely has a fair idea who he wants in the 11 slot. Alan Brogan, as he showed against Derry, is getting back to his best. Diarmuid Connolly is another option although Paddy Andrews may be considered as good a finisher as he was last season.
Horan’s comments about the lack of noise from supporters when the team needed them in Croke Park last September made interesting reading. As much as Mayo blunted Dublin’s domination of the Hill, their relative silence was noticeable. Voices will want to be heard on Saturday.
Dublin should give their U21s a break but Bernard Brogan’s first appearance could come on Saturday and Mayo’s injuries have been all but cleared bar Alan Dillon and Chris Barrett.
In their last three league meetings in Croke Park, there have been 11 goals and 90 points. Mayo’s last game saw 6-26 scored.
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