Once more unto the breach for the greatest rivalry in modern Gaelic football.
Mayo have proved to have the stiffest shields during this era of Dublin dominance, and tomorrow they will once again confront a side with a legitimate claim to be one of the greatest teams of all time in an All-Ireland final.
As with any great rivalry, it weaves together countless smaller battles, with one of these standing out: Lee Keegan v Diarmuid Connolly. The reigning Footballer of the Year has dealt with Connolly better than any other defender in recent times, and has a handy proclivity for outscoring the Dublin forward.
Tomorrow, however, we may be deprived of this clash for much of the game. Connolly has not been named to start for Dublin, given his lack of game time in the Championship thus far. Few have anticipated that Lee Keegan would not start the final, however, but it is exactly that scenario that Kevin McStay ponders in his final preview for The Irish Times.
Keegan has not scaled the heights of 2016 so far this year, although there are extenuating circumstances: he went off injured against Derry in the qualifiers, and he has struggled with cellulitis since the end of July. Drained of energy, Keegan did not start the All-Ireland quarter-final replay against McStay's Roscommon.
As a result, McStay writes in the Times that he would strongly consider starting him on the bench.
I'd probably also keep Connolly's nemesis in reserve. I rate Lee Keegan very, very highly but it's only four or five weeks since he had a serious illness. That takes a while to get out of the system and his form has dipped. I don't know what's going on in training, but unless he's improved, starting him on the bench has to be a consideration.
Read the full piece over on the paper's website.
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