Maurice Brosnan on Kerry v Tyrone: Are Kingdom just deeper than last year, or better?

Making the case for Kerry and Tyrone in Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final.

Tyrone’s Padraig Hampsey and David Clifford of Kerry in last year's All-Ireland semi-final. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

KERRY

The case for: The reigning champions are coming into form at the right time. Jack O’Connor still has challenges. They are the sort of challenges that every manager would love. Who starts in goals now? Shane Murphy was superb against Kildare and Armagh. It would be a big call to bring Shane Ryan back on Saturday. How do they get Gavin White and Sean O’Shea into the starting team? That sort of competition is powerful.

Are Kerry a better team than they were last year? Right now, they are certainly deeper. Mark O’Shea should be the All-Star midfielder right now. Dylan Geaney has gone to another level. They landed in Croke Park for a quarter-final against Armagh in 2025 with serious injury concerns as well, Paudie Clifford didn’t even start. It worked out all right in the end.

The case against: Kildare was a brittle test. For 34 minutes, Armagh offered more and would have been content to go in three down with the breeze at their backs for the second half. One handpass to Joe McElroy’s toes later, and suddenly their challenge was spent. They were down too many players and had a six-day turnaround.

Tyrone’s best chance is to drag Kerry out to deep waters. They need to believe that they can test the Kingdom’s pulse coming down the straight. How? Utilise Niall Morgan to get their kickout away, take advantage of how deep their opponents defend by kicking two-pointers and getting a punch from their bench.

Can’t do without: The greatest footballer in the country. David Clifford has scored 4-31 in the championship, 4-21 from play. The reality is that Kerry have never won a game when he didn’t play well.

Clifford scored 1-1 in the league final, a fine return for a normal inside forward, but this wonder is not normal. Caolán McColgan earned huge praise for his man-marking performance that day. In 2024, when they were beaten by Armagh or in 2023 in the final against Dublin, Kerry’s reliance on the Fossa genius was obvious.

They have more threats now. There is a system around the star. Even still, Tyrone must deal with the greatest danger in the game first.

TYRONE

The case for: Since their disappointing league campaign, Tyrone have logged three solid performances. The form line is rising even if results did not always follow.

They brought Armagh to extra-time before back-to-back victories over Roscommon and Mayo. That win in the All-Ireland SFC Round 2A tie at O'Neill’s Healy Park was a demonstration of everything good about them.

Niall Morgan was terrific between the posts and kicked a clutch free at the end. Conn Kilpatrick was a monster in the middle. Darren McCurry was brilliant off the bench, while they also got Darragh Canavan on the field for some much-needed minutes.

There is a balance to their front six that they sorely needed. Ciarán Daly and Seánie O'Donnell are real grafters. Mattie Donnelly is a perfect focal point. They look a better side than the one that lost by six points in a semi-final last season.

The case against: Two one-score wins against Roscommon and Mayo can’t be taken as proof that all of their issues are resolved. They very nearly faded from the game in Dr Hyde Park before one short kickout mishap pulled them back into it.

There is also the issue of the standard of their previous fixture. It was noted by several observers at the time that the first half was closer to a challenge game than the white heat of championship. They have to expose Kerry to a level they have not endured in recent weeks. Do they have that in them?

Can’t do without: Niall Morgan. The honesty in his post-match interview with RTÉ after their last game was admirable. “As you get older, you get into your mid-30s, you do think maybe it is time to change things and go with a younger keeper,” he said. “Brian and Feargal, to be fair, really backed me.

“Malachy whenever he came in, he did ask questions of me. I probably didn’t react in the best way and found that tough because I have always been number one for the last number of years. I had to dig deep; thankfully, I am coming back into a bit of form but I am still not there yet.” 

His free-taking is an obvious strength and Tyrone sorely need to get their hands on ball against a Kerry side with an awesome press. He is the key to that.