The Leinster Championship used to be a splendid competition. There was great entertainment, a wide range of contenders and some real legendary managers plying their trade against one another.
It was the Premier League of Gaelic Football, as we saw Paidi O'Se, Mick O'Dywer and Sean Boylan go head to head. The unpredictability of the championship was much of its allure.
However, from around 2005 onwards, one county have completely taken over the province.
Dublin won six out of seven Leinster titles from 2005-2011. They've strengthened their dominance of the province even more in the last decade and look highly unlikely to be beaten on the provincial stage anytime soon.
Worryingly for other counties, their Leinster dominance in now being mirrored on a national stage.
Their winning average in 2011, the year of their first All-Ireland in the 21st century, was 3.66 points over 6 games. Kildare and Wexford really put it up to them in the Leinster Championship, as did Donegal and Kerry. Every team kept Dublin to within eight points.
The situation had completely changed by 2020. Dublin played five teams and their average winning margin was 14.8 points. A huge, huge improvement. Only one team managed to keep them to single figures.
The chart below shows Dublin's average winning margin in each of the last ten championships.
They have averaged a ten point or more winning margin, in six of the last seven seasons. The average winning margin of all of Dublin's games in the last ten years has been 9.85 points.
An incredibly impressive record, with no sign of slowing down.
Here's what Dublin's average winning margin in the championship has been in each of the last ten years:
2011: 3.66 points
2012: 4.6 points
2013: 8.66 points
2014: 10.8 points
2015: 11 points
2016: 6.28 points
2017: 12.5 points
2018: 12.5 points
2019: 12.2 points
2020: 14.8 points
Average winning margin per game: 9.85 points
Will this tend be reversed anytime soon?
Kerry seem to be coming and look like they'll be the one team that eventually stops Dublin, though the loss to Cork this year was a huge set-back.
Six in-a-row will slowly become at least seven or eight if this trajectory continues. That seems to be the only certainty in these very uncertain times.
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