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How 'The Mark' could impact Dublin vs Mayo and Aidan O'Shea's role

Sunday's All Ireland final between Dublin and Mayo will be the first since the introduction of 'T...



How 'The Mark' could i...
Videos

How 'The Mark' could impact Dublin vs Mayo and Aidan O'Shea's role

Sunday's All Ireland final between Dublin and Mayo will be the first since the introduction of 'The Mark' to Gaelic football on January 1st 2017. 

But what effect, if any, will it have when it comes to the kick-out strategies, especially for Mayo and the balance of power in the midfield battle?

It was a question raised by ex-Mayo midfielder David Brady during our Panel at the Aviva Stadium in association with Benetti Menswear.  

How 'The Mark' could impact Dublin vs Mayo and Aidan O'Shea's role

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"A good benefit of it - I know it's the first year of it - is you can't get tackled for four steps," Kerry midfielder David Moran explained to Brady.

"And people probably haven't got their heads around that, so if you catch it, you stop and kick it but you can run for four steps and no one can touch you which allows you to get good ball in. I think that's a real plus of it."

But he did add the one thing he doesn't like about 'The Mark' is "if you don't kick it by a certain time, it's a hopped ball. I think it should just be play on".

Brady suggested of 'The Mark' "that will be tried to be exploited" at Croke Park on Sunday.

The aerial battle of midfield will also be intriguing tomorrow and the panel discussed how Aidan O'Shea could be deployed in that regard.

"You mention the kick outs. I think Aidan O'Shea could maybe drop in in and around that area. I think with 'The Mark' now introduced and Dublin looking to push up on Clarke's kick-outs, Clarke has an incredibly long kick-outs, so for me possibly stationing Aidan in and around that centre-forward position and going long will be a good option and a good outlet for Mayo," said former Tyrone All Ireland winner Sean Cavanagh.

You can watch the full Off The Ball Panel with Ireland's leading menswear providers Benetti right below. You can check out Benetti on their official website 

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