Maurice Brosnan: Physical contact the missing ingredient with big questions still to be answered

Perhaps it is fitting that Division 1 concluded with mere glimpses of what both contestants could be.

Kerry’s Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Paul Murphy and Gavin White with Aidan O'Shea of Mayo. Pic: James Crombie, Inpho

We learned nothing new here. In the end, a fluid Kerry cruised past a Mayo outfit that appear peculiarly stuck. There are several big questions ahead of the summer. Croke Park had no answers.

After recent awesome displays, the odds were shortening for the current All-Ireland favourites. Sunday won’t exactly accelerate that advancement. The accuracy that characterised those triumphs was sorely lacking. David Clifford alone had five wides and a missed goal chance. Graham O’Sullivan and Tom O’Sullivan left other opportunities behind them. In the final quarter, Conor Geaney’s decision to fist over saw Jack O’Connor spin away in annoyance.