Mayo emerge as All-Ireland contenders on back of impressive league

I'VE always wondered at the necessity of a final in a league competition. The beauty of a league – ideally played on a home and away basis – is that the best, most consistent team comes out on top. There's no hiding place over a long series of games.

Another issue with running a knockout series after a league campaign is that the team that has finished top of the pile isn't guaranteed to end up winning the championship.

On the other hand, knockout games stir up excitement and intrigue, and given the no-second-chance nature of them, they usually produce fireworks.

The Allianz National Football League has its own particular set-up that works quite well, it must be said. Instead of a series of knockout games, it pits the top two teams in each division against each other in the final.

The timing of this year's finals, with the championship just around the corner, was probably not ideal but it couldn't be helped.

Thankfully, at the end of the Division 1 campaign, the best team throughout the series went on to claim the title. Mayo only topped the division on score difference from Galway but they looked the consistently most impressive team since the season started in late January.

Galway played in fits and starts, and repeated that pattern in Sunday's final at Croke Park. On another day they could have been clear winners given the amount of goal chances they had, but for long periods that game was dictated by their bitter rivals.

Padraic Joyce, manager of the Tribesmen, said afterwards that Galway are a few weeks behind Mayo in terms of preparation. There could be some fundamental truth in that, but Galway were coming off a much more positive 2022 and Mayo, under new management, had to bed in a number of new players. Galway have a settled look about them in terms of personnel, and they could be a force once again in this year's championship. Joyce will just be looking to coax more cohesive performances out of his charges.

ATTACKING FOOTBALL

If Galway are to be considered All-Ireland contenders, then so too must Mayo. From the very first game of the league – also against Galway – they have played a nice brand of attacking football. Sure, they defend in numbers (which team doesn't?), but they also look to break forward at pace and hit the inside forwards with early ball when possible.

Apart from the style of play – a winning style thus far too – the major positive to take from the league campaign is the emergence of a strong squad. By opting to stick with Colm Reape between the uprights and start both Jack Coyne and Sam Callinan in Sunday's final, McStay sent out a signal that he trusts these young players in a high octane environent. They all repaid that faith in spades.

There are more emerging young stars too, such as Donnacha McHugh and Bob Tuohy, and the result is that McStay now has a serious squad at his disposal for the championship.

David McBrien shone as a full-back of quality too during the campaign, and the hope is that whatever forced him off at half-time on Sunday will not be too series.

Elsewhere, Tommy Conroy, Eoghan McLaughlin, Padraig O'Hora and Darren McHale are coming back into contention at just the right time, and while Cillian O'Connor and Enda Hession remain on the injured list, they will factor in what will be a long championship campaign.

Another highlight from the league campaign has been the re-emergence of Aidan O'Shea as a force in the full-forward line. He really is a handful for any defender when he occupies a role high up the pitch and even if he doesn't score a handful, he will win frees and cause havoc for others around him to benefit from.

Jordan Flynn and Jack Carney have had excellent campaigns too and looked nailed on to retain their half-forward berths for the championship, as long as fitness allows. Fionn McDonagh might have competition for the other half-forward position but he has plenty of offer the team, whether starting or coming off the bench.

Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus and Paddy Durcan look like the management's preferred half-back combination. The Loftus experiment at centre-back looks inspired at this juncture, while Coen is arguably having his most consistent spell for Mayo as a senior player.

Durcan showed against Galway on Sunday what he brings to the team and if Reape wasn't so inspired on the day, he would have been in the running for the man of the match accolade. So too would Diarmuid O'Connor, who could lay claim to being Mayo's best player for the entirety of the league season. He has formed a formidable partnership with the ever-consistent Matthew Ruane in the middle of the park.

All in all, the tenure of Kevin McStay has been remarkable so far. The FBD League is just a pre-season tournament but if you're in it you might as well try and win it, and that's exactly what Mayo did. The league, meanwhile, is often seen as preparation for the championship but McStay took every game seriously, and in the end got his just rewards with the Division 1 title.

What didn't seem likely at the beginning of the year – that Mayo would be in the conversation as All-Ireland contenders – has come to be, and for that the manager and players must take great credit. Who knows, this might finally be the year when the long wait for the big prize ultimately ends. Let's take it step by step, as McStay and his management team like to do.