Dublin are becoming the ultimate final side

COMING out of Croke Park on Sunday, a former Mayo manager tried to counter what he had just seen by theorising that teams who win All-Ireland semi-finals by large margins go on to lose finals while those who receive sterner tests are better placed to claim silverware.

Let’s consider first what a big win constitutes.

Three years ago, Donegal beat Dublin by six points. Six is a reasonably large margin and Donegal were beaten the next day out by Kerry, who needed two attempts to beat Mayo. In 2011, Kerry saw off Mayo by nine points only for Stephen Cluxton to then dash their dreams.