Just inches separated Dublin from an extra 20 minutes in which to claim what would have been their fifth consecutive National Football League title last month. Dean Rock's last gasp free from beyond the 45 hit the post, meaning Kerry claimed their first league title since 2009 and halted Dublin's incredible unbeaten run.
Though they extended that run to 36-games without defeat during the league, something looked off about Dublin. They drew three games, regularly having to come from behind to claim an unlikely point.
In his column for The Sunday Times, Paul Galvin has highlighted a factor which may have affected Dublin's preparations this year.
During this year's O'Byrne Cup, Dublin fielded an experimental team as the majority of Jim Gavin's squad was on holiday in Jamaica as a reward for retaining Sam Maguire last September. Dublin taking their holiday post-Christmas was a variation on their usual schedule for the season.
Against Donegal, Monaghan and Kerry they looked one step off the pace.
This is more about timing than a fitness issue. The word on the street is that their January holiday (later than usual for them) is still in their legs meaning they're a bit short of their normal levels. That theory would male a lot of sense to me.
Galvin says that for the first half of his inter-county career, Kerry would have holidayed in early January. This practice was stopped in 2010 as ground was being lost to other teams.
Dublin's decision to holiday after Christmas rather than before it surprised the Kerryman.
Dublin made up the most ground in those years. Their habit of holidaying pre-Christmas was one of their smartest moves (and they have made many) so I was surprised to hear of the January break this year. No doubt they made the call after some consideration with the bigger picture in mind. How it plays out will have a big bearing on how competitive they are in August.
Galvin is well-placed to garner information about Dublin's preparations. The 37-year-old has been playing for St Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh, the club of Alan and Bernard Brogan, in this year's Dublin SFC. Though, they were eliminated by last year's finalists Castleknock on Saturday evening.
Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
