KEVIN CASSIDY: Like father, like sons

WHAT I watched last weekend reminded me of when I was younger growing up when I used to watch Peter Canavan playing for his club Errigal Ciaran in the Ulster Club Championship.

Thinking back to those days I remember wondering how on earth this small fella was able to do what he did. Muddy pitches, horrible weather, getting hammered all over the pitch.

It didn’t matter. Time and time again Peter the Great would stand up when it mattered most for his club and land one of his outrageous scores.

Fast forward a number of years and the Canavan name is back again. We have heard about the two boys Darragh and Ruairi for quite some time now as they starred for their schools and colleges.

We knew about the potential but we all wondered if they could get to anywhere near the levels where the old man operated at which, let’s be honest, is a big ask.

We saw at county level over the last year or two what Darragh was capable of and last weekend Ruairi produced a performance for the ages to confirm that the two Canavans are hell bent on reaching the same heights their father once enjoyed.

Ruairi’s point taking was simply sublime as he single handedly dragged his club into the Ulster Club final.

His decision making was excellent and he kicks so naturally off both feet, it makes him extremely difficult to handle.

After last weekend’s games, I thanked the lord that these new rules are being introduced as we could have gone through both of these lads’ careers without seeing them at their very best.

It’s crazy to think that for the first few years of his inter-county career Darragh had to do as much chasing back to defend as time spent on the attack.

Just imagine for a second the amount of freedom these two lads have now to actually go out and show us what they can do naturally without worrying about sprinting back into their defensive shape.

These two boys always had promise but they are about to deliver in a big way for their club and county in the coming years. They will be delighted to have made the final but that comes with its own headache.

To reach the promised land and to follow in their father’s footsteps, they will have to overcome the juggernaut that is Kilcoo.

For anyone who saw their win over Scotstown, they’ll fully understand just how big the task at hand is.

Kilcoo were excellent on the night as they tore Scotstown apart. They have a very sound defensive unit, they are committed to the cause, they have serious pace and most of all they all blessed with a mountain of experience.

A few of their key men are pushing on a bit but they have been bolstered by a few new additions which keeps the whole thing fresh.

They will be looking around them and they are smart enough to know that if they manage to come out of Ulster, they will take some stopping.

Next week we will get a look at how the game might go in terms of styles and match ups.

For now, let’s just look forward to what we have to look forward to.

With a lot of the big hitters falling by the wayside you would have to fancy the winners of Ulster but both of these teams have a lot of work to do before they reach that stage.