Kerry earn the right to rub shoulders with hurling giants

So it was that Kerry finally reached the promised land of tier two success — and the considerable reward of Liam MacCarthy Cup hurling next year — without ever truly extending themselves.
In truth, the real final for Kerry came against Kildare when they opened up with some fantastic hurling and soared to a 36-point win, allowing all their frustrations from last year’s final defeat to come flooding out.