The finale to the Allianz National Football League played out largely as expected in all four divisions over the weekend, with the promotion and relegation races following the form book of recent weeks.
There were not a huge amount of shocks in this set of fixtures, although one result did catch the eye yesterday afternoon. While Dublin would have been expected to beat Tyrone at Croke Park, the manner of their victory has raised some eyebrows.
The Dubs would run out as winners on a scoreline of 5-18 to 0-12, booking their place in the league final as a result. It was a shambolic performance from a Tyrone perspective, one their manager Brian Dooher would label as an 'embarrassment'.
Tyrone certainly did not look like a side who were all that interested in producing a big performance against the All-Ireland champions to cap off their league campaign, something that has puzzled a few commentators.
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Paul Flynn baffled by Tyrone approach to Dublin hammering
Tyrone opted not to play a number of first choice players against Dublin, and while it remains unclear why they were absent, it is fair to assume that this being a dead rubber fixture for the Ulster side probably had something to do with it.
In saying that, some feel that the chance to measure themselves against Dublin is something they should relished.
Speaking on Allianz League Sunday, Paul Flynn admitted he could not understand why Tyrone would not play their best team and attempt to get a result against the Sam Maguire holders.
A bad day at the office for Tyrone, but was their one-sided clash with Dublin a symptom of wider problems with the schedule?
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I don't understand why they would do that. They've got four weeks or whatever to their first (championship) game and they rest a load of players? They might have a load of knocks, we don't know.
I know a lot of managers today in their post-match interviews have been giving out congestion, week on week games, and the risk of injuries, we have seen a lot of injuries.
But for Tyrone today to come down to Croke Park and play the All-Ireland champions and have a right go at them and see where they're at.
Anytime when [Tyrone] were on top and we were chasing you guys, we targeted those games because that's when you learn so much about yourself, not when you're winning games against teams of a lesser level.
You want to benchmark yourself against the top. I thought Tyrone should have went out and tried to do that.
Tyrone certainly did not perform like a team who were treating this as a big fixture in their calendar, something that no doubt played a part in the result.
Quite a few inter-county managers have complained about the 2024 schedule and the way it has led to injuries within their panel, something that may well have had an impact on this game.
Sean Cavanagh said that the congested nature of the league and championship seasons has resulted in less big games for supporters to enjoy.
With the extra games now lobbed and the league and championship almost blended in together, it meaning managers have now copped on that they don't want to risk injury. Players are picking up knocks, so they're not risking injury.
There's too many games. Supporters can't afford to go to all the games. We're losing spectacles, we're losing entertainment.
I think today was an example of that. That's going to fall into that structure bucket that we're going to have to look at.
It will be interesting to see if this is something that is addressed moving forward.
From Tyrone's point of view, they will be focusing on being at their best for the opening round of the Ulster Championship against Monaghan or Cavan in late April.
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