However, despite all this progress, his season will be judged on what happens after 3.30pm tomorrow and the final — should there be one. Such is the expectation in Kerry; he knows it comes with the territory.

Tomorrow’s semi-final is going to be an engrossing affair and is a 50-50 match. My heart says that Kerry can and will win, but another Harte may have something to say about that. Mickey Harte has a great record of pulling a rabbit out of a hat for big Championship wins in the past. The biggest surprise he could pull here is go 15 on 15 and really go for it as they did in the 2005 final.

He would never do that... or would he?

I could write a long-form article on the number of areas that are going to be crucial tomorrow. The impact of the subs, kickout strategies, both on their own restarts and the approach to opposition kickouts, referee calls, defensive match-ups, discipline, and even the rub of the green.

However, for the purpose of this piece I am going to focus in detail on two key areas that can decide tomorrow’s semi-final:

Kerry’s forward division v Tyrone’s mass defence

Kerry’s forward division has lit up their journey this year. Stephen O’Brien, Seán O’Shea, Paul Geaney, and David Clifford are all operating at or close to their optimum. Killian Spillane has excelled in his two starts. The sixth slot has rotated between others but this group all look certain to start.

Up to this point, teams have allowed them space and the luxury of one-on-one battles. That changes tomorrow. Tyrone will play bodies back and with an aggression and nous that Kerry have not encountered this year.

When they get this right it can be very hard to break down, as against Kildare. However, surprisingly against Cork (their last relevant match) they were well off, especially in the first half, and Cork showed how to punch holes in that rearguard.

They were uncharacteristically impatient in defence. Colm Cavanagh typified this, charging out of his holding sweeper position in an attempt to force turnovers. He left holes all over the place which Cork exploited, particularly for James Loughrey’s goal. Cavanagh also missed more tackles than he made and fouled on a number of other occasions.

I am sure Mickey Harte has had a one-on-one conversation with him in the meantime and backed up his points with the undeniable evidence of video analysis. He should be back to his effective best this weekend and Kerry will have to find a way to occupy him.

Kerry will most likely use a mix of the following methods, which are among the most effective ways to break down a mass defence. When in possession — and Tyrone have their defensive setup in place inside their 45m line — Kerry will keep moving the ball back and over outside of that defensive shield. By rotating the ball in front of Tyrone they will try to draw them out and create pockets of space behind. Patience in possession is vital here.

Equally as important is to keep the ball moving fast with sharp skills. I hated when our lads delivered a sloppy pass or if we were static in possession of the ball. This was possession for possession’s sake; that lack of urgency is completely counter-productive and suits the blanket defence.

Patience with pace

It’s the term I used to impress the necessity of on the players. As the outside players are rotating the ball at pace, it is vital for the forwards to be on the move, making themselves constantly available. The idea is to move the Tyrone defence around and plan for one of their defenders losing patience and charging out of his slot or switching off and losing a forward, thus allowing an accurate pop pass to the open forward.

When that forward receives the ball he needs runners off him, with these runners being the player taking the shot. More often than not, the initial receiver will have to play in the direction he is facing because if he dwells on the ball, the piranhas will circle and devour him, force a turnover, and counter-attack at pace.

A further option when rotating the ball back and over is to keep an eye on what is going on inside the 20m line. As moves progress, space frequently opens up in that area. The long diagonal ball to a one-on-one situation is often on but isn’t exploited as much as it can be with players out the field lacking awareness and not looking inside enough. Good vision, awareness, and execution of an accurate kick pass in this scenario will create goal chances.

Another way to break down the blanket is to isolate a defender on the fringes of their defensive zone and run the ball at him hard in an attempt to break the line. The ball carrier needs a support runner (or two when possible) off his shoulder to offload to and when done correctly can punch major holes in the rearguard.

Ruairí Deane did this with great effect on a couple of occasions in the Tyrone-Cork game. The man in possession can use another powerful tool then by playing one-twos while running at pace causing panic, overlaps and scoring chances. Mass defence loves slow, static play, but hates pace, accuracy, and simple one-twos.

A further option for Kerry, particularly with some of the personnel available, is the shot from distance. For this one, it is important to get the right man, in the right position, with the right amount of room to get the kick away. David Moran’s point from distance last weekend was a good example of this and players like Seán O’Shea and David Clifford have that in their locker also.

Decision-making will be huge when Kerry are in possession and if they are consistently making the right decisions while playing with patience at pace, they can break down Tyrone’s mass defence. What they want to avoid is turning the ball over needlessly and allowing Tyrone to get their counter-attacking, hard-running game going the other way, which leads to the second area that I feel will be crucial on Sunday.

Kerry’s defence

There was more bad press for the Kerry backs this week. I was delighted with the way they responded when last they were under the microscope before the first Super 8 game against Mayo. I felt they defended with intent and aggression in Killarney and they will need more of the same tomorrow. Ironically for tomorrow’s game, the way Tyrone set up will suit Kerry and help them solidify the defence.

Tyrone have excellent forwards playing further up the field than they have been. The match-ups will be important and Peter Keane and his management will have put a lot of thought into who is going to mark Cathal McShane, Mattie Donnelly, Niall Sludden, Peter Harte, and their final real forward — a toss-up between Darren McCurry, Connor McAliskey, and Richie Donnelly.

Interestingly Frank Burns has been playing nominally as a forward but retreating and helping more often than not with defensive duties. Also, as we know, Colm Cavanagh will play as a sweeper when Kerry are in possession and augment Tyrone’s attack when they have the ball, when he can.

With both Burns and Cavanagh retreating, it will free up two Kerry players. Keane may elect to push up on them and play with eight forwards but more likely he can play with a sweeper and a safety. The sweeper can cheat off Burns and sit deep in front of McShane and Mattie Donnelly (when he is in there).

His job is to protect the ‘D’ by forcing deliveries from out the field wide and go to the point of danger and firefight when Tyrone win ball inside. Hugh McFadden did this to great effect when Donegal beat them in the Ulster Championship. This sweeper will give the Kerry full-back line plenty of protection and guard against leaving them isolated with acres of space in front of them.

Further out the field, the safety can cheat off Cavanagh and situate himself on the halfway line or Kerry’s 65m line. When Kerry are in possession, he will be available for an out ball and keep the ball moving on, or on occasion come as a support runner to break the line. His primary job without the ball will be to sweep runners when Tyrone turn over the ball and break at pace.

The Kerry forwards will be expected to work hard, to tackle, delay, and be the first line of defence, but when a runner breaches this initial line, the safety will be in a position to deal with him by making contact and slowing down the Tyrone counter thus allowing Kerry to get bodies back and help defensively.

Anthony Maher performed this role for us in the past with aplomb and while much of this work can go unseen it can be the difference between winning and losing.