Maurice Brosnan on Kerry v Dublin: So much for a game of kickouts

KICKOUT KINGS: Kerry's Shane Murphy celebrates their win over Dublin. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie.

Referee Brendan Cawley duly did his part. Thanks to an eventful opening period, we knew precisely how both teams were going to approach kickouts after their first one.

Dublin winning the throw-in and earning a two-point free provided a crucial delay. They could orchestrate their press the way they wanted to.

From that kickout, Shane Murphy looked for his old reliable, Mark O’Shea. He broke it to Sean O’Shea and Kerry finally had the ball.

Soon after came the contentious penalty. Joe O’Connor went down; David Clifford missed and then scored. As it happens, it is the third time they have missed a penalty in this fixture. Clifford joined Sean O’Shea (2022) and Paul Geaney (2019) as the placed-ball takers unable to beat the Dublin shot-stopper.

In the meantime, Kerry were able to organise their shape. They went with four on the arc and another four between the 45 and 65 in a bid to force Evan Comerford long. In the entire first half, only three kickouts were directed inside the 45.

Comerford did it once and it almost ended in disaster as Dylan Geaney picked it off and raced in on goal. His blasted effort went over when a green flag beckoned.

The physicality around this area of the game was striking too. Con O’Callaghan took a crushing hit from O’Shea after 16 minutes. There were several frees for screens or holding. Murphy and Comerford tried to get creative at times.

For Dublin, that meant their fast option was to go long rather than short, with Alex Gavin breaking into space in the opposition’s half.

Meanwhile, Joe O’Connor planted himself in the front row of the Cusack Stand for a couple of pinpoint kicks to the sideline.

Random thoughts.

Dublin 2/5 on twos. Kerry didn't attempt any. Hill wind is lethal.
Paudie Clifford two points and one wide, two assists. Not man-marking him is a big call.
73% vs 67% kickout retention. Only 3 short kickouts. Great battle.
Charlie McMorrow. Some find. pic.twitter.com/DRQ12WrFV1

— Maurice Brosnan (@m_brosnan) July 12, 2026

Now, dear reader, we have a confession to make at this point. We say this in full appreciation that we are partly responsible for much of the intellectual clatter, but the kickout discussion has become too much in Gaelic football. It’s too bland. Modern analysis has to be more than telling us it is ‘a game of kickouts.’ How? How are some teams so uncannily good at winning possession off the tee? Delve deeper.

The thing is, there are so many moving parts to a kickout. They can be genuinely fascinating spectacles. No! Come back. Please. We promise.

It is more than simply hoofing it out to a battle around the middle. The variety, the trajectory, the blockers and the infinite iterations of a press are all parts of the puzzle.

Ever since Armagh’s infamous capitulation in the 2025 quarter-final, teams have been determined to avoid a similar meltdown. It is easy to say you need a break-glass policy in case of emergency. It is harder to articulate how.

At the start of the second half, Kerry lost three kickouts in a row. The Hill behind Murphy’s back could sense the opportunity. Dublin had hit three points on the bounce after the turnaround. The noise that cascaded down was deafening.

Dublin's Ross McGarry has a shot on goal saved by Kerry goalkeeper Shane Murphy. Pic: Dáire Brennan/Sportsfile.

Rather than go once more to the mass of bodies on his right, this time the Dr Crokes number one went left. Diarmuid O’Connor started his run near the halfway line and arrowed directly towards the corner. On his way, the ball floated invitingly. He was able to meet it in stride, claim a mark and relieve the pressure.

“I suppose it came down to kickouts,” said Man of the Match Paudie Clifford as he collected his crystal. “We knew how good Dublin were on breaks, they won a good few breaks and got a few slow plays. In fairness, they were great scores. We knew what they were capable of.”

Even still, Ger Brennan’s outfit will be pleased with their performance on the set-piece. Their primary issue was what they did when they gathered that possession. Some of their misses in the second half, albeit into a lethal wind, were brutal. Sean Guiden and Brian Howard both skewed shots.

They were exceptionally unlucky not to take anything from that mad goalmouth scramble that saw Murphy deny Ross McGarry and Paul Murphy push the rebound off Mike Breen’s head and away.

For the second day in a row, the loser did better on kickouts. Dublin won 71% of their own compared to Kerry’s 63%. But profligacy murdered their chance. From 19 kickouts, Kerry had 16 shots for 1-12. From 15, Dublin had 11 shots for five points.

Mayo won their semi-final by 17 points despite the fact they retained just 53% of their own. Louth, it should be said, were far from perfect on 58%. But it is not like they were unable to get their hands on ball. That semi-final was about what they did with it.

This is the imposing challenge for Andy Moran and Mayo now. It takes monumental work to master the kickout against the defending champions. Even then, it still might not be enough.