Maurice Brosnan's eight National Football League observations

Zones of interest, the man behind the wire and even in a hangover of exhaustion and reflection, there is the undeniable sense that something in you was stirred last weekend.

Once the likes of ball-playing Kerry defender Paul Murphy breaks the one v one, the domino effect for the opposition can be devastating. Pic: James Lawlor, Inpho

We’ve rarely had a witching hour quite like the glorious spell that came last Saturday. It was as the clock ticked past 8.30pm that the first official reports emerged of heads being melted.

16-year-old Max Dowman’s goal for Arsenal in North London signalled waves of sheer bedlam. English winger Cadan Murley’s reward for a relentless chase in Paris was scored almost exactly as Oisín Conaty sliced through the heart of Dublin’s defence in Croke Park for a glorious score. Less than three kilometres away, a near 9,000 crowd at the sold-out 3Arena were preparing to lift the roof as they built towards Pierce O'Leary’s raucous homecoming. The main event world title fight ring walk began as France national rugby union team wrestled back the Six Nations trophy.