Éamonn Fitzmaurice: They counter-pressed Pep. Now someone must find the way to disrupt Donegal

Kerry go chasing a rare back-to-back All-Ireland, doubly difficult because corner get cut. Fatigue with each other and with the road can set in. There is a comfort and lack of crankiness in the environment

DOUBLE DREAMING: Kerry manager Jack O'Connor and David Clifford celebrate last summer's high, an All-Ireland final tour de force against Jim McGuinness' Donegal. This year, the Tir Chonaill men appear to have set the T&Cs. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Prior to the recent National Football League final, a narrative was beginning to emerge that another Kerry win this year was inevitable, with their march towards Sam Maguire seemingly inexorable. 

Their underperformance in last month's Division 1 decider and the manner of Donegal’s victory proved once more there is no such thing as a sure thing under the new rules. If a team, any team, are slightly off it, even for a spell in a game the opposition can go to town. It brings that beautiful unpredictability that we love in sport.