THE Dubs got a bit of stick for hand-passing the ball around the place against Kerry on Sunday, but who can blame them really? The Kingdom set up a defensive shell early in the second half, so Dublin did the smart thing by recycling possession before looking for openings which they invariably found. It’s not particularly easy on the eye, but neither is the blanket defence. It’s just part of the natural evolution of the game, but knowing the GAA, they’ll probably come up with some stupid rule to counteract it. There’s also a bit of talk that Dublin are there for the taking this year, but I’m not so sure – they mightn’t have as many megastars as they did five years ago, but last year’s All-Ireland triumph was possibly their handiest yet. The jury’s out on the rest of Ireland, not the Dubs.

NIALL GARTLAND

FANS are back, baby – well in the North anyway. It’s tremendous news that county games this weekend will have 500 people in attendance. The difference between sport with no fans and sport even with a small crowd is night and day. I was at last year’s All-Ireland Hurling final between Limerick and Waterford at Croke Park and even with the Déise chasing a fairytale, it felt more like an early-season league match than the greatest day on the hurling calendar. The scramble for tickets will be tough in some counties, but whoever makes the cut, go and enjoy this experience. It’s been over a year since you have been allowed to cheer on your county.

NIALL MCCOY

DERRY’S forwards are on quite the scoring spree at the moment, and that is saying something considering that the county are managed by Rory Gallagher, who came into the role with a reputation of being a defensive manager. What this suggests to me is that categorising managers as only opting for a certain strategy may be a broken model. Gallagher’s defensive style of play comes from his having managed Donegal in that way, and Fermanagh too, but perhaps he needed a team with true artists to really allow his forward attacking style to flourish. In Donegal, Paddy McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Ryan McHugh and co. are basically attacking defenders. And Fermanagh, Sean Quigley, Tomas Corrigan? They were just in the right place at the right time. Alright, so I’ll admit it, I don’t know why Gallagher’s attacking strategy is so good. But I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover.

RONAN SCOTT

MUCH has been made of Antrim’s progress, and rightly so, but a lot of credit should also go the way of the Down players and management. After three rounds of the National League Division 2A campaign, the side are sitting very pretty. Manager Ronan Sheehan is probably still stewing over their round one loss to Kerry when a mad spell allowed the Kingdom in for a few goals when the game was in the balance. They’ll remain in the division, barring a miracle, which was the main aim. Their next game is a trip to Offaly which will almost certainly end their promotion hopes, although they did pull off a famous win against the Faithful county last season. Even if they lose that, Meath at home presents a great opportunity to make it three wins from five. What a return that would be. It’s not just Antrim on the rise.

NIALL MCCOY

MOST people seem to think that Gaelic football is in great shape at the moment, at least from an entertainment perspective. There’s high scores aplenty, particularly in all-Ulster matches! That’s great and all, and I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but it’s notable that some of the defensive play has been dithery to say the least (it’s hard to believe Donegal conceded four goals at the weekend, while Kerry were just as lax at the back). The question is why? Is it because of bad coaching, or did the blanket defence era ruin a generation of defenders? Personally, I’d be more inclined to blame the coaching, and teams are still getting themselves into shape for the season so a little rustiness is understandable. In saying that, there’s not too many Mick Lyonses around these days either, but my hunch is that’s a generational thing.

NIALL GARTLAND

THE provincial championship series feels like it is being put in the back of the car and taken to the same place that old dogs and Railway Cups go when they reach a certain age. There is a good deal of public pressure that wants to see open draw championships so that we don’t have to suffer through mismatches in Leinster, Munster and Connacht, because the weaker teams in Ireland feel like it’s unfair that only teams like Louth and Carlow get to be beaten by Dublin in the first round of the championship. The counter to those who want to see the provincial championship sidelined quicker than a Royal prince and a TV star, is the current National League format. Division One has provided three weeks of great clashes between the top four teams in Ulster. If I had my way, I’d run the Ulster Championship as a league across eight weekends. Superb drama, classic rivalries, and let the rest of the provinces train till we’re finished.

RONAN SCOTT

Fans will return to the stands this weekend