INSIDE TRACK: 2023 football championship is over, so where are Rebels in the pecking order?

THE All-Ireland senior football championship is done and dusted, Sam Maguire is back in the capital, Kerry are licking their wounds, so where do Cork stand after the 2023 season?

Having watched the top two teams in the country – Dublin and Kerry – go toe to toe, how far off that level are Cork? 

First, the final itself; it was decided by a late, audacious scoring burst from Dublin. From the 51st minute Dublin outscored Kerry by 0-7 to 0-2 to bring Sam back to the other capital. How sweet it must have been for captain James McCarthy along with Mick Fitzsimons and Stephen Cluxton to climb the Hogan Stand in front of the Kerry players and fans and surpass the Kerry greats to collect their ninth All-Ireland medal.

Prior to the All-Ireland quarter-finals, this championship was being categorised as one of the most open in decades with Kerry and Dublin being slight favourites over three or four more pretenders that were showing signs that they might do it. After the quarter-finals and victories respectively over Tyrone and Mayo, they were outright front runners for Sam. 

The majority of the experts found it difficult to call a winner prior to the eagerly-anticipated joust with most pointing to the respective benches or the possibility of a player error or a referring decision that could tip the balance either way.

This game had all of the above. 

Dublin looked in control coming up to half time only for David Clifford’s marvellous pass for Paul Geaney to goal. Dublin’s renowned third-quarter push was expected but Kerry had obviously prepared for that and dominated the game in this period. The key to Dublin’s victory was Gavin White's poor handpass that led to Paddy Small's goal to bring Dublin level before Kerry again went three ahead. The Kingdom could have been five or six points up coming down the home stretch and might have been able to see out the Dubs late push. Instead, the blue machine took over.

So, with it all over, where do the Rebels now stand in the pecking order after the dust has settled? After a positive and progressive season where will John Cleary and Kevin Walsh be looking for the percentages to close the gap even further next season? Will this Kerry defeat awaken the animal that is retribution within them or will it create chinks in that armour for Cork to expose next season in the Munster championship? What can Cork learn from the top brass in the game at the moment?

Goalkeepers Stephen Cluxton and Shane Ryan were close to 90 percent completion on average on kickouts over the season. Their ability to mix it up separates them. Under All-Ireland final pressure Ryan had 14 completed kickouts inside the 45, eight left and six right. He had nine successes outside the 45, five left and four right. Cluxton had 13 completions inside the 45, four right and nine left and nine completions outside the’ 45, four right and five left. Cork’s lack of variety plagued them during the league and early stages of championship but improved as the season progressed.

Dublin had three forwards in the top ten scorers in the championship, Con O’Callaghan, Colm Basquel and Cormac Costelloe. Kerry’s Sean O’Shea and David Clifford accounted for 7-81 between them. Steven Sherlock was down the pecking order with 1-25 to his name, obviously in less games, but the point I am making is one heavy-hitter up front is not enough.

Forwards with the power, pace, ability, courage and the freedom to make decisions when and when not to go for the jugular are imperative. An example being after half time in the final when Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan received a high-quality diagonal ball that he could have marked. Instead he knew he was one-on-one with Tadgh Morley, went for goal and was unlucky to hit the crossbar.

A mark of the top teams is their in-game consistency and game management. Dublin’s third-quarter push didn’t materialise in Croke Park but they kept trying to do the right things and that push materialised for them later in the game. Monaghan and Derry put the finalists to the pin of their collars in the semi-finals but they hung in there and pushed late on the opposition’s kickouts to create separation. Cork have a way to go here. Against Roscommon, the Rebels were five up with ten minutes left and decided to sit off the Roscommon kickout to concede five points. Against Derry concentration slipped after Rory Maguire’s goal and the Ulster champions got their kickout away far too easily to immediately goal down the other end.

We have seen the importance of panel and bench strength when the season is so compact. Kerry's bench was weakened with Tony Brosnan’s absence and Steven O’Brien’s promotion to the starting line-up. The Dubs had aces in reserve with the likes of Jack McCaffrey and Dean Rock. Cork’s bench performed handsomely and won the Mayo game, as an example. With players like Liam O’Donovan, Sean Meehan and Cathail O’Mahony to come back in to strengthen options even more, it strengthens Cork’s hand.

Cork’s structure and game-plan have far more meat on them post-season and the collective ambition of the squad is far higher. Playing and beating Division 1 teams in championship will have added vital big-game experience to that ambition. I think we will see further incremental improvement next season but promotion from Division 2 and victory over Kerry in Munster will be needed to catapult us into a top-six outfit.