Leading referee Conor Lane has described the advanced mark as an ‘awkward’ rule and believes players have to take more responsibility in calling it.

Ultimately, it was St Michael’s more polished forward division that earned the Blackrock club its first Cork U21 ‘A’ football title since 1976 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

All-Ireland final referee David Gough has responded to the controversy generated by the Irish Examiner GAA Podcast, on which former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice insisted Gough shouldn’t be selected to ref that final.

Nemo Rangers upped the ante big time in the second half to send champions St Finbarr’s packing in appalling weather conditions at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday. The incessant rain made this Cork SFC quarter-final a real slog before the 2017 champions got the formula right after a sluggish enough opening half.

The least Dublin’s history makers have earned was choosing how their greatness would be validated. Doing it in the face of a piercing probe from the winningest football county – and the one snapping at your heels - is some way to frank it.

That series of Kerry wides in the second half, Eoin Murchan’s goal in the “Championship quarter” where Dublin have been known to be so powerful, Stephen Cluxton’s save from Stephen O’Brien when the margin was three points.

Stephen Cluxton (Parnells): If this is his final bow, what better way to do it? Kerry didn’t make his life too difficult as he restarted but he was still varying his kick-outs well. His save from Stephen O’Brien was an easy one but he was so good with the high ball that came his way. 7

Dublin have won their fifth All-Ireland title in a row in a stunning battle with Kerry at Croke Park.

Former Kerry defender Marc Ó Sé has suggested that the appointment of Cork’s Conor Lane for the All-Ireland final replay could play into Dublin’s hands.

The GAA has explained live TV is one of the primary reasons why the All-Ireland SFC final will throw in at 6pm on Saturday week.

We don’t exactly know what’s going to happen on September 14 but we figure there is a better chance of predicting what won’t

Conor Lane has been named as referee for the All-Ireland SFC final replay as the GAA confirmed ticket prices for the game.

David Gough was the right man for this All-Ireland final — I maintained that from a good bit out — and seeing him give one of the best refereeing displays in a football final wasn’t unexpected.

You imagine as the Kerry party left Croke Park yesterday evening they were preparing a case for the defence of Stephen O’Brien.

So Mayo poked the bear, and the bear reacted by consuming them whole. In eight blistering minutes after the interval, Dublin turned a two-point deficit into and an eight-point lead.

For those who prefer their dreams sprinkled with fairy dust, maybe these metropolitan marauders will start looking at themselves fondly between now and September 1.

Just once have Dublin failed to score a goal against Mayo and their nine points were still enough to win in a dour

I can’t tell you how much of a buzz it would have been for David Gough to have taken charge of Saturday’s game in Castlebar.

Donegal were 9-point winners against Meath at the sun-kissed Ballybofey, although the scoreboard only tells half the story of a gripping contest.

We all know the biggest bugbear about GAA officiating is inconsistency and there was a classic case of it in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday. For the same infringement, Anthony Nolan made three different calls.

After a bevy of provincial underage success, classy Cavan showed signs they might be coming of age at senior level as they cruised into the semi-finals of the Ulster SFC semi-final after a dour derby duel at Kingspan Breffni.

There are occasions when referees make life difficult for themselves and yesterday’s first half in the Gaelic Grounds was a prime example of that.

Have you refereed outside the country before?

A pair of winning points of real quality from Darragh Fitzgibbon, at the end of the second period of extra-time, finally put daylight between these two teams after a pulsating and fiercely contested Cork SHC first round at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday.

Sunday’s mass brawl in Austin Stack Park should at least set one record straight. Just as it becomes clearer that Brexit impacts the entire island and not just the North, the violence at GAA matches is not the preserve of Ulster as much as some would, for the sake of convenience but truly downright ignorance, like to sweep that problem towards the nine counties.

Mickey Harte has always sweated the small stuff.

Margin of error is something a lot of observers don’t consider when analysing a referee’s performance. Refs don’t go out with a plan to make mistakes but neither do they believe they are going to get everything 100% correct.

Regardless of the final, 2018 will not go down as a vintage year for football, writes Paddy Kelly.

YESTERDAY’S events in Thurles told us more about a man who wasn’t on the field than one who was. If anybody was in doubt about the Westmeath man taking charge of the All-Ireland final, they aren’t now.

Monaghan advanced to their first All-Ireland semi-final in 30 years with a superb double scores win over Galway at Pearse Stadium in Salthill.

What an amazing spectacle in Thurles yesterday and James McGrath can believe he contributed to it, writes Brian Gavin.

As has been their habit since the innocent summer of 2011, the Mayo football team hasn’t been short of takers lining up to bury and praise them in recent days.

Last week, I spoke about the importance of a referee’s team and unfortunately it was the topic of most discussions yesterday, writes Brian Gavin.

Not since 1998 and 1999 has there been this much fanfare about Connacht championship games, writes John Divilly

Galway football captain Damien Comer has credited Paddy Tally with bringing greater directness to the county’s attacking play.

KILDARE 0-10 GALWAY 0-16: Galway warmed up for next week’s league final against Dublin with a stylish win over a totally demoralised Kildare side at St Conleth’s Park yesterday afternoon.

MONAGHAN 0-15 - TYRONE 0-14: Monaghan people could almost be tempted to take it for granted, but after this win over Tyrone, they are almost virtually guaranteed to play in Division One in 2019, for the fifth consecutive season under Malachy O’Rourke.

As Joe Kernan keeps his fingers crossed that three of his bug-stricken players will be able to play some part in the first test, the Ireland International Rules manager has underlined the importance of the two referees doing their job tomorrow.

The Barr’s reconvened on Tuesday evening last. Of the starting team from two days earlier, six didn’t tog. They couldn’t.

What does it say when yet again a match official is unable to take matters into his own hands during a game, asks John Fogarty.

Sigerson Cup Final