Kerry may be Munster champions after defeating Cork two weeks ago but Meath man Anthony Moyles says he still has considerable doubts over the merits of Peter Keane’s team.
Moyles was looking ahead to the round four qualifiers on Thursday’s OTB AM and said that although he was impressed with Cork in the Munster final, their opponents Kerry were just “off” on the day.
“Kerry aren't the team they are cracked up to be. Certainly, the forward line and the bit of power they have up there [are not], but even from some of the half-forwards back they are lacking.”
While Kerry won by a goal on the day, their inability to convert their chances and bury Cork in the first half means Keane "has more questions to answer" than his Cork counterpart Ronan McCarthy, Moyles said.
However, the merits of Cork are also not clear according to Moyles.
“I was impressed by Cork. I was impressed by their work rate but the worry is was it just [because it was against] the old enemy? A one hit wonder?”
Moyles compared that while Cork may have challenged Kerry in a close Munster final it does not make them superior to Meath who were trounced by Dublin in their respective provincial final.
“I think they did a lot of things right in that game certainly for 40-45 minutes but if you're not close to Dublin or even ahead of them by that time you will get in the situation that as soon as they get a goal and they go from four [points] to seven or from five to eight you then need to open up and go at them a bit and it’s game over.”
Looking ahead to Cork’s match up against Laois on Saturday, Moyles tipped the Rebels to win but only by a marginal victory of two points “or thereabouts”.
Mayo v Galway
Mayo look set to continue their qualifiers run into the Championship, according to Moyles who also expressed his bemusement at the state of inter-county football in Galway.
“I don't know where Galway are at the moment. I think there are question marks all over it. If you think, Corofin are probably one of the most dynamic teams in the country bar none. They are playing a brand of football that intercounty setups would go: 'We should actually just replicate that.'
"And then you have the complete opposite at inter-county level. Even if you are a Corofin player going in there [to the inter-county panel] you are thinking this is pretty alien to me.”
Meath v Clare
Moyles backed his own county Meath to overcome Clare on Sunday afternoon, saying that he expects Andy McEntee to make changes to both the midfield and forward line.
"I think they will make a couple of changes up front. The best thing here is to make four or five changes and bring in some lads who are chomping at the bit."
Cavan v Tyrone
In Saturday evening's all-Ulster qualifier Moyles predicted a gruelling game but that he expects last year's All-Ireland finalists Tyrone to progress.
“Cavan definitely will be no pushover and I think Cavan could set up to frustrate them they'll stop the running game and they'll force them to use McShane inside and that will cause problems for Tyrone.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
