Nothing between Kilmacud and Corofin

SPOT the difference. Both achieved the league and championship double in their respective counties last year. Both are attempting to claim a second All-Ireland title — and first since the 1990s. No wonder this one is so hard to call.

The bookies are inching towards the Dublin and Leinster champions and it isn’t difficult to see why — having watched Kilmacud negotiate a tricky passage through the latter stages in the county before accounting for Navan O’Mahony’s and Rhode.

But they did all that without really playing great football and that can be taken one of two ways. Will they blow someone away if they hit top form or have they rode their luck?

Corofin met with far less resistance in exiting Connacht, but the western province’s club championship has never been the minefield Leinster routinely proves to be, so their capabilities at this level are also questionable.

Their strength appears to be at the back where Alan Burke, Damien Burke, Kieran Fitzgerald and Michael Comer can all call on their experiences with the Galway seniors. How they cope with Brian Kavanagh and Mark Vaughan will be crucial.

Crokes’s inconsistencies have left them very much reliant on goals on more than one occasion in the last six months with Mark Davoren’s penchant for three-pointers making him as dangerous as the side’s more famous aforementioned attackers.

If Corofin can keep their rigging under lock and key the Connacht side may well pull off a minor surprise by progressing through to St Patrick’s Day.

* Verdict: Corofin