By Peter Canavan While commentating on a professional fight the legendary George Foreman once remarked 'The referee is going to be the most important person in the ring tonight besides the fighters'. While George's comment is both glaringly obvious and funny we can say something similar with regards to the upcoming All-Ireland Final. Martin Duffy's performance on Sunday will come under just as much scrutiny and opinionated crossfire as that of the two combatants. Recent refereeing performances will ensure that the man-in-the-middle has a spotlight all of his own. John Bannon's handling of the Tyrone v Cork match did give cause for debate (especially among Tyrone fans) but the subsequent performance of Gearoid O Conamha in the Meath v Kerry game only generates cause for further debate around some of his decisions. On numerous occasions in the Meath v Kerry game O'Conamha penalised the player with the ball for over-carrying while tackled by a wall of opposing players yet in the Tyrone v Cork game the player in possession won several frees while being tackled by a group of Tyrone players. Certainly, the rule is open to the referee's interpretation but which interpretation do coaches accept as being valid when preparing a team for competitive action. Diarmuid Kirwan's decision to award Richie Power a penalty in the 68th minute of the hurling final gave rise to major debate also. While he should be praised for his overall performance he will unfortunately be remembered for this incident in particular. Referees are sportsmen and just as performance level is everything for the competing teams so too should it be for referees. Yes, they are fallible and can have a 'bad' day just as any player might, but their performance can have such dramatic consequences for competing players that it is imperative that it is as close to perfect as humanly possible. The fact that John Bannon's and Dairmuid Kirwan's interpretation of certain rules played a major part in the outcome of both games cannot be denied. Cork may well have beaten Tyrone under another referee and Kilkenny may well have beaten Tipperary without the penalty but I can guarantee that both games would have finished with a much narrower winning margin. Apart from affecting the outcome - or not - the referee can have a relevant input to the enjoyment level of the game as far as spectators are concerned. In the opening league match of the football season we had a cracking encounter between Tyrone and Dublin in Croke Park and in this column I lauded the performance of Marty Duffy in that match. He was prepared to let the game go from the very throw-in despite the recent fiery encounters between these two teams. We were all rewarded with a fantastic free-flowing game of football. Admittedly, the sporting manner in which the two teams played the game was a big help to Marty, but he did make a big contribution to the occasion by his good refereeing. Of course, a league encounter (though spectacular) does not hold the same devastation for the losing team as that of an All-Ireland Final nor does it present the same Eldorado for the victors - Sam. When Marty Duffy takes to the field on All-Ireland Final day he will be presented with a completely different set of circumstances and a heightened sense of responsibility. Hopefully he will 'let the game go' and we will once again be lauding his performances in this column. An interesting comment was made during the post-match analysis on The Sunday Game when Cyril Farrell said (while reflecting positively on Dairmuid Kirwan's performance) that if the hurling game had been a football game the number of frees awarded would have been enormous. Thomas Mulcahy was very quick to point out that such comparisons could not, or should not be made. He is right, of course, but if the footballing referees did hold back a little bit more on the whistle it would surely make for better viewing. Conor Counihan and Jack O'Connor will undoubtedly talk about Marty Duffy behind closed doors as part of their preparation for the final but they will have many other issues demanding greater attention than the man from Sligo. Conor Counihan will know that the Kerry half-forward line will not be as easily subdued as the Tyrone men were in their last outing. The oft-maligned Paul Galvin is certainly showing his true potential and proving to all the country just how valuable he is to any Kerry line-out. Deploying Noel O'Leary to subdue this livewire will make for one of the more exciting match-ups in the game. Will Canty and Miskella getting pushing forward or will they be too busy with the athletic Tagdh Kennelly and roving O'Sullivan and Galvin? Marc O Se will undoubtedly relish another chance at Donnacha O'Connor and the battle of the giants at midfield, Darragh O Se and Nicholas Murphy, will also prove intriguing. All over the field there ares fantastic head-to-heads. Will the resurgent Mike McCarthy have the legs for Pearse O'Neill. Can the Gooch shake free from the shackles of Anthony Lynch? Will Thomas O Se slow the pacey Paul Kerrigan? (O Se's and Kerrigan's at it again - how many years is that?). This effervescent, hungry, strong, skillful Cork team come to Dublin with all the impetus and do indeed hold a pretty neat hand at the minute. They will no doubt win their fair share of possession and maybe even shade the possession stakes around the middle sector of the field for long periods. What they do with that possession is crucial. The running channels that Cork found in the Tyrone defence will not remain open as long or as often as they did that day so they will be hoping to get ball through to their accurate front men O'Connor, O'Neill and Goulding. With Fintan Gould, James Masters and Michael Cussens waiting in the wings they can easily add class to that full-forward line. Of course the runs of Kerrigan, O'Neill, Miskella and Canty are a vital ingredient to their make-up, I believe it will be hard to sustain a fruitful running game while maintaining a tight defence. Just what Cork can achieve by their forceful, on-the-edge type of play will greatly depend on Marty Duffy's leniency and openness. They do have abundant talent but it is their hunger that could be the telling factor. Buoyed by their victories over Tyrone and Kerry they will certainly take to the field with a spring to their step and under the shrew tutelage of Conor Counihan will present an awesome challenge to the Kerry men. With such credentials as this why is it that I fancy Kerry to emerge from this with Sam Maguire reclaimed and safely heading for the Lakes of Killarney? Jack O'Connor and Kerry set out on a mission at the start of the year to reclaim Sam. So far they have accomplished their mission, albeit through a defeat and some scary moments, but they are here. Definitely, they would have liked Tyrone's scalp along the way but their goal was Sam - and he still awaits. Form for Kerry is not something that a punter can read into too much. Last year they looked unstoppable for a good part of the season but came undone in the final. This year they have much more experience and have added greater dimension to their attacking strategies. No mention this year of 'the Twin Towers' (though such a prospect still exists if deemed necessary and if Kieran Donaghy is available). Declan and Darren O'Sullivan along with the Colm Cooper are extremely talented forwards who can now look to Kennelly, Galvin and O Se for vital supply. The Kerry bench? Depending on who starts of course but you could have Walsh, Donaghy, O'Mahony, Sheehan, Quirke, O'Sullivan, O'Shea, O'Connor, Moran, etc Like Kilkenny, Kerry don't do panic and if the game remains close I expect their abundance of class to take them over the line by only one or two scores. In the minor final I expect a powerful Armagh team to bring the honours up North. Their victory over Kerry was mainly due to a strong second-half performance that saw their forwards adopt a more direct approach than that of the first half. During the opening thirty minutes their over-carrying of the ball and poor passing was frustrating to watch at times especially when it was evident that they had the talented personnel capable of going all the way. Mayo are a very similar team to Armagh in that they have size and strength throughout the field but I believe that having come through the tougher route the Orchard County will be better prepared for the final showdown. Tweet

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