Galway test vital for Kerry ahead of Munster cake walk

The final weekend of the league is always high on drama, with plenty on the line, even if some teams near the summit of Division 1 regard a league final as more hassle than it's worth.

Aside from Derry, everyone in the top tier has something to play for, and two teams - Mayo and Kerry - could conceivably wind up in a league decider or be relegated to Division 2.

The number crunchers have assured us that Mayo's chances of being relegated on seven points - it would be a very rare event - are hovering at 1.5% (don't ask me to outline the calculations).

With Donegal likely to rotate the squad as they did last weekend, there's a fair prospect that Kevin McStay's side could wind up on nine points. It would mark an impressive showing given that they were touted for relegation by all and sundry after the first two rounds - including by this columnist.

The most enticing clash in the final weekend of games is in Salthill, where we've a rematch of the 2022 All-Ireland final, involving two of the most stacked and exciting attacking units in the game.

We said last week that Kerry needed to shake off the air of stagnation that enveloped them in 2024. They sure as hell did that against Armagh in Tralee on Saturday.

I was on punditry duty on the sideline, the perfect spot to take in the Kerry forwards in full flight. It was a rip-roaring first half display, and some of their attacking play was a delight.

Their embrace of the foot-pass, in a league where so many teams are still intent on running the ball, was a joy to watch. With the play stretched more under the new rules, they moved the ball quick and direct.

There are question marks about how tuned in Armagh were on the day - their away form in the league has been pretty desperate - but it was still Kerry's most impressive attacking performance in some time.

Paul Geaney did make a good point in the aftermath that it can be hard to sustain that intensity and momentum over the course of 70 minutes. And when Kerry slump back into a more sedate and lateral type of game, they look much more ordinary. But when they play that heads-up, direct game, there are few sides that can match them.

Paudie Clifford shone for Kerry against Armagh

The game this week has a particular significance for Kerry, and not just because their safety isn't assured yet. Given the absence of elite competition in Munster, this could be the last time they play top tier opposition for several months.

Their relatively easy run to the All-Ireland quarter-finals did them no favours last year. This could be their last chance to make a statement against fellow All-Ireland contenders until the latter stages of the summer.

Padraic Joyce came off severely annoyed after Galway's defeat in Croke Park. We know he wasn't inclined to spare Shane Walsh and Rob Finnerty in the aftermath.

It was such a strange game from Galway's perspective. The first half was borderline surreal, with their forwards butchering so many easy chances.

We know that Shane Walsh occasionally has these sorts of abject performances in his locker.

His form has been electric in the league up until now and he is probably the most aesthetically appealing footballer in the game. His mastery of the two-point arc was crucial for Galway in the first four rounds.

But we know he's capable of throwing in a stinker, sometimes when Galway are in their moment of greatest need. For me, he still needs to develop the killer mentality that Con O'Callaghan and David Clifford have in their make-up. In his early 30s, it might be a bit late to be transforming into a different player but a Galway team with designs on an All-Ireland need the best version of Walsh come the business end.

On the plus side for Galway, Damien Comer ran riot in the inside line during his 15 minutes on the pitch and looks capable of being a terrifying weapon under the new rules, providing fitness allows him.

The big conundrum for Galway has been to get Comer and Walsh on song on the same afternoon. You are inclined to wonder whether it's possible. The two boys operate as independent entities rather than a combo. When the game is played to one's liking, the other tends to be peripheral.

While Joyce has been outspoken about wanting to win a league title after so long, I would tend to give Kerry the edge this weekend, given the still live threat of relegation and the need for a statement performance ahead of a leisurely provincial campaign. One wrinkle could be the usual Salthill wind, which might make their fluid kicking game a touch harder to execute.

Based on my tips this week - wins for Dublin, Kerry and Mayo - that would leave us with a Dublin-Mayo league final. Maybe I need to revise that...

Division 2: So much on the line

I suppose Division 2 is where most of the jeopardy lies as ever. We could be on course for a humdinger of a finale.

Davy Burke's comments after Roscommon's loss to Cavan were baffling. (Alas, for Davy, he'll have to settle for second prize in the 'most bizarre comments by a Connacht manager' contest this week).

He evidently took the home defeat hard because he seemed intent on writing off promotion, saying "we've no business in a league final" and talking about going to Mullingar to "fill the numbers", aka, just complete the fixture programme.

Cavan have improbably put themselves in the promotion mix

Perhaps we can put it down to disgust with the performance and a desire to send a message to his players that the performance wasn't acceptable. Though, as a player, I'm not sure it's the type of message I'd like to hear towards the end of a league where promotion is still a major possibility.

They are dependent on results from elsewhere, obviously. The permutations mean they need either both Meath and Cavan to win their games - or else for them both not to win.

One of them winning is no good as both have them on the head-to-head - unless Monaghan lose at home to Down, in which case it's back to a score difference foot race, where the Rossies have the edge.

Cavan-Cork feels like the game with most riding on it. Whenever the threat of the Tailteann hangs in the air, it seems to be the cue for Cork to put a spurt on. Sure enough, they were reborn at the weekend and devoured Louth in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Cavan should be buoyant after four wins on the bounce. Their promotion hopes looked shot after the opening two rounds but it's been quite a turnaround. The return of Dara McVeety has been central.

Given that they beat a Roscommon team that had walloped Cork two weeks earlier, the formbook suggests a Cavan win - but you wouldn't be that shocked if Cork turned up with a big performance given what's at stake.

Division 3: Kildare trip over a couple of hurdles

In the third tier, relegation is likely settled. Sligo's away win in Antrim looks to have guaranteed their safety, a deserved outcome after some poor luck earlier in the campaign. They should make light work of Leitrim in the final round, provided they're asked to play the game at all.

At the top end, it was a landmark win for Offaly. I happened to be in Tullamore last week for work and anyone I spoke to on Gaelic football was backing them to beat Kildare - and so it proved. The positivity is certainly night and day from last season, where they barely tried a leg in the Tailteann Cup.

It's a major setback for Brian Flanagan and Kildare, who looked like certainties to run amok in the division at the outset. Now, they've lost to their two promotion rivals and they still have business to attend to in the final round.

Fortunately for them, their score advantage over Clare looks far too big to reel in and they should have too much quality for an Antrim team who are on the cusp of relegation.

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