Kerry must decide to play it with style

All-Ireland MFC final: As has been the way with so many football teams this year, whichever Kerry outfit decides to turn up tomorrow should dictate how the contest goes.

If the side that overwhelmed Laois in the opening 20 minutes of the semi-final rears its head they should bridge the 10-year gap since the Tom Markham Cup last went to the Kingdom.

"If we let them start at a one-hundred-mile-an-hour pace we're in trouble," admits joint Tyrone manager (with Martin Coyle) Liam Donnelly. "That first half was the best display from any minor side all year."

Then there is the more blunted, defensively cynical, Kerry side that came out intent on holding on to what they had in the second half of that semi-final. With Laois reduced to 14-men, Kerry rotated the fouling process to offset the threat of their lightweight opponents. It was a style of football that Croke Park has become all too familiar with on big days over the last couple of years.

It's the type of play that would suit Tyrone down to the ground. Make no mistake, there is plenty of quality in the Ulster champions' line-up - three players picked up McCrory Cup medals this year, while five were on the Tyrone vocational schools side that won the All-Ireland - but they will probably welcome any roughhouse tactics.

The Tyrone returnees must also be factored in. They managed to beat Down, for the second time this year, in their semi-final replay without their hugely influential captain Marc Cunningham and midfielder Shane O'Hagan.

Aidan Cassidy filled Cunningham's large boots against their Ulster rivals and now reverts to corner forward. Add Colm Cavanagh and Raymie Mulgrew to the mix and their quality runs deep.

A second All-Ireland in four years is within the grasp of the Donnelly and Coyle partnership.

Then, of course, there is the small matter of dealing with Kerry's quality. Rory Keating, Paul O'Connor, Shane Murphy and Mark Evans are all serious point-getters but their jewel is undoubtedly Darren O'Sullivan.

The only way Laois could stop his Pat Spillane-esque bursts was to foul him. One thing's for certain, if his runs from deep are not stopped at source untold havoc will follow.

Looking at these two quality teams from an overall perspective, Kerry look to have a slight edge.

Expect a well-fought contest, and a flutter of yellow cards, but in the main the highest standard of football from the two most potent breeding grounds in the land for the modern player prototype.

This year's man of the match will be presented with the Cormac McAnallen trophy, which will be presented at the after-match dinner.

TYRONE: J Curran; N McGinn, P Marlow, D Burke; J Gilmore, N Kerr, M Murray; R Mulgrew, S O'Hagan; C O'Neill, M Cunningham (capt), R McCrory; G Devlin, C Cavanagh, A Cassidy.

KERRY: B Kealy; P Reidy, L Quinn, K Young; D Doyle, C Kelliher, D O'Connor; B Moran, R Keating; M Evans, A Kennelly, M O'Donoghue; S Murphy (capt), D O'Sullivan, P O'Connor.

Referee: T Quigley (Wexford).