THINGS TO BE GETTING ON WITH
All-Ireland finalists Cork and Kerry begin their planning in earnest this week for the Sept 20th football decider. Sports editor Tony Leen says their list of objectives should include:


CORK
1. Preparing for an aerial assault: Michael Shields’ near faultless displays at full back this season convinced many that the issue of Graham Canty being ‘wasted’ in the full back line was history. However, there was a worrying half an hour with Donegal’s Michael Murphy, and now the prospect of Kerry reverting to an aerial assault to the full forward line that may include Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh. There’s very few secrets that survive over the county bounds these days, so Conor Counihan’s management team should be aware in advance of Kerry’s attacking plans. But if Cork stick with Lynch, Shields and Carey, they’re taking a calculated gamble. However Counihan won’t want to push Canty back into the full back line, and may prefer to apply pressure on the delivery, as Tyrone managed so successfully in last year’s final. Speaking of the 2008 final, if Cork were to pull  a Joe McMahon out of the hat, what odds Fintan Goold being given a special job for the final?

2. Keeping Kerry’s half backs honest: There’s been much talk about Cork’s marauding half back line. Graham Canty exploited a tactical faux pas by Tyrone to make hay (and Daniel Goulding’s goal), but one suspects Kerry won’t be as accommodating. However, just as important could be the role of Cork wing forwards Paul Kerrigan and Paddy Kelly - both more creative than destructive. Kerry’s Tomás Ó Sé harvested an amazing nine midfield breaks on Sunday, and left Meath’s Peadar Byrne a broken man. Mike McCarthy and Killian Young are not averse to bolting forward either, so it’s critical that the Cork half forwards keep them honest and focused on the job they’re picked for - i.e defending and going backwards.

3. Minimising turnovers: Cork’s attacking prowess was necessarily blunted in the quarter final by their reduction to fourteen men, and subsequent drift backwards. But on too many occasions, they invited Tyrone back onto them by turning over possession in no-pressure situations. On the presumption that both sides retain a full complement of players, Kerry will happily employ such turnover ball to rapid effect against a Cork defence that won’t be lying as deep this time.
Additionally, there’s a real sense that the Cork full forward line has the edge on Kerry’s full back line - if only they can get fast, quality ball. Too many Cork turnovers against Tyrone were caused by advancing players running into trouble and not making the ball do the work - much to the annoyance of Messrs Goulding and O’Connor in the corners.

KERRY
1 Taking the sheen off Cork’s diamond: Nowhere was Cork’s superiority over Kerry in Munster more evident than in Pearse O’Neill and co’s driving runs through the heart of the Kerry defence. It was seen by many as conclusive evidence that the Kingdom were a spent force, unable to counter Cork’s physical strength and fitness. However, there were mitigating circumstances - Marc Ó Sé picked up a hamstring injury during the game and Paul Galvin was sent off (opening up the spaces on the right flank). Tommy Griffin has since returned to full back, where he’ll be matched with Colm O’Neill, but the key clash will feature the recently returned Mike McCarthy’s joust with Pearse O’Neill. If the Kilcummin man can’t handle O’Neill, Kerry are in trouble.

2  Devising an attacking game plan: Eight into six doesn’t, but Jack O’Connor’s management team won’t complain. Sunday’s starting sextet will battle with Tommy Walsh and Kieran Donaghy for final places, giving the selectors tactical as well as personnel options up front. Whereas the Kingdom got their attacking plan spot on for the Dublin quarter-final, the same strategy malfunctioned in the first half last Sunday against Meath. By shaking up his deck for the final, Jack O’Connor may force a positional rethink in the Cork defence - would Conor Counihan be happy to leave Michael Shields at full back if Kieran Donaghy was on the edge of the square? Where will Declan O’Sullivan start? Tadhg Kennelly’s display on Sunday, not to mention his efforts against Graham Canty in June suggest he may be deployed on the Cork captain in three weeks. At a series of levels, Kerry’s forward thinking will be pivotal.

3 Working on placed balls: It’s an issue they’ve been aware of since the start of this season - who’ll pop the long-length frees if neither Bryan Sheehan or David Moran are on the field? To some it’s incidental, but in the close games, a reliable dead ball expert is the difference between winning and losing an All-Ireland - and Kerry don’t have one from 1 to 15.
Cork have their own problems with Donncha O’Connor’s radar off in the semi-final, but the Rebels have the Ballydesmond man, plus Daniel Goulding, if required. On Sunday, Kerry were reduced to Colm Cooper trying to work a short 45 with Tadhg Kennelly in the first half. Kerry’s penalty woes are not behind them either. Darran O’Sullivan lost his footing in the run-up to Sunday’s penalty, and though it trickled past Paddy O’Rourke, it was less than convincing.