Hold fire on the applause — it’s early yet for Dubs

Someone once said that defence is not just for defenders, just like attacking is not just for forwards.

This is a truism, a statement of fact and something that is so applicable to the modern game of Gaelic football. The really good teams over the past decade blurred the lines of defence and attack to such an extent that people wondered if the numbers on your back meant anything at all. Armagh pressurised high up the field, Tyrone had superb attacking half-backs, Kerry had Paul Galvin doing the work of two men while Donegal withdrew players to build the platform to counter-attack at pace.

To date, the football championship has witnessed a laboured mindset to attack football. Teams have decided that possession is king and that the best way to maintain possession is to run it through the hands from defence and (caveat!) at pace if possible.