“With the new rules each game is like a rollercoaster and that probably reflects our season” - Ger Brennan on his side’s season to date

On a week like this, Ger Brennan is listening to that inner voice and trusting his instincts.

Picking a team to face Kerry, the old enemy, in a Championship encounter is never easy but particularly so when there are so many strong options.

Since the start of the O'Byrne Cup in January, Dublin manager Brennan has handed competitive game time to 60 different players, Lee Gannon the most recent addition to that list when he returned from injury to feature in the All-Ireland series.

Eight of those players are Championship debutants, several of whom have been making particularly pressing claims for first team inclusion against the Kingdom this weekend.

Truth be told, a few positions on the team, and in the 26, will naturally fill themselves. A number of tried and trusted performers have been in top form in recent weeks.

But when it comes to the last couple of big calls, for those who make the XV and who line out in front of a full house against the Sam Maguire Cup holders, or even make the 26, that has to be difficult. How do you know when a player is ready for a game like this?

"There is probably a bit of science involved in that but also your instinct and your gut informs you," said Brennan. "How do you inform your instinct and your gut? By talking to your management team, talking to your analysis team, your S&C guys, looking at the player himself, talking to the medical team. Then eventually there will come a time when you think, 'Right, we have to give this guy a chance'."

Brennan namechecked Seán Guiden as one of the players in that category, who has forced himself into the reckoning in recent weeks. The St Sylvesters man didn't feature at all in the National League but worked so hard behind the scenes that he put himself in a position to make his Championship debut as a sub against Westmeath in the Leinster final.

"Credit to Seán, he didn't actually play any minutes in the League, nor did Josh Bannon," said Brennan. "But the few bits of feedback we gave those guys, they have really gone after it, and you have to admire how dedicated they are, and there is more to come from those new fellas. They are only going to improve, provided they have the same mindset and dedication."

Win or lose on Sunday, it's only the beginning for this cohort of talented young Dubs. And Brennan has another list of players that he reckons could potentially join them when 2027 rolls around. That's the business of inter-county management, always planning ahead.

"We were at club games last weekend and last week," said Brennan. "I think seven of us went to club matches on the Tuesday in Dublin. I was at Cuala and Thomas Davis in Hyde Park, picked up a couple of new names there as well that we'll focus on during the club championship.

"We probably have a list of seven or eight players that we picked up just from watching those club games.

"Then you're chatting away with Jonny Cooper and Bryan Cullen, seeing how lads are going at underage and who is coming into the U-20s setup next year. We're always in the business of recruiting."

And the business of winning. Or at least turning in the sort of performances that leave you within touching distance of the big prizes.

That's where the more experienced players come in. 

Decorated performers like Con O'Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Niall Scully, David Byrne, Colm Basquel and Cormac Costello have all been hitting top form in the All-Ireland series. Multiple All-Ireland medal winners Brian Howard, Evan Comerford and Paddy Small have stepped up too.

"Ah, they have," agreed Brennan, who is aware that some of them could even be in their last season or two. "Again, I probably even said it after the match against Galway, but you don't want to go out - even thinking back to my career and towards the end, picking up knocks and struggling with injuries - you don't want to finish up on a damp squib.

"You want to go out on your shield. If that means success in terms of silverware, brilliant. But ultimately the real success is going out on your shield. And to be remembered for that. And that is what we are seeing from some of those games."

As tough a thought as that is, retirements are part of the game. The baton always gets passed on.

"It is only a decision that they will make, and their bodies quite often will make for them," said Brennan. "We have certainly seen them step up in the last few games and that will only help the younger guys coming through."

For now, it's all about facing Kerry, and trying to pick the green and gold lock this weekend. Brennan did it a few times himself as a player.

"I played in the 2011 final against them, I played in the 2013 semi-final, I got the curly finger at half time in that one actually," smiled Brennan, who grew up on a diet of Dublin versus Kerry war stories.

"I could start listing them off, the St Vincent's lads with All-Ireland medals in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, going back to Kevin Heffernan's time. To win an All-Ireland by beating Kerry along the way was always that bit different as a Dub. That was one of my abiding memories as a player, that was always in the background of my mind."

Chances are they have a similar mantra in Kerry, about beating Dublin. They've only managed to do so once in the Championship, in 2022, since 2009.

Brennan is hoping that Dublin can keep that strong record going. He has been enthused by their excellent form in recent weeks, which has yielded wins over Cavan, Donegal and Galway.

"Second half against Cavan, the lads did really well, did really well against Donegal, albeit would have liked to have been a couple of points maybe ahead going down the home stretch," said Brennan. "But the effort and the performance was great, and extra time really stood to the group.

"Then, against Galway, performed really well for large elements of it. Probably in that third quarter, again, we struggled. But then we finished strongly. With the new rules, each game is like a rollercoaster, and that probably reflects our season, and my experience of the season anyhow, with the ups and downs."