The first thing you have to credit Kerry for is making a third All-Ireland final in succession, which is a fantastic achievement. They deserve to be there, and they've also got there exactly the way Jack O'Connor would have liked it, with all their big players coming into form, and a hungry, confident panel to go with that.

This was a game that Kerry never looked like losing. Semi-finals are all about winning, and Kerry did exactly that, without playing terrific, open football. That was never going to happen, and didn't need to.

Still, you have to credit Cork as well for ensuring the game never totally opened up for Kerry. There was no clear fluency or rhythm to the game, especially early on, and that's because Cork at least hampered Kerry's game plan for as long as they could.

As the game wore on, though, Kerry's superiority began to show. Nicholas Murphy was hampered from the off, and that meant Cork were badly limited at midfield. Once again Darragh Ó Sé just ran affairs. In fact I've never seen him so commanding, and that augurs well going into an All-Ireland final.

Paul Galvin showed great work rate again around midfield, and Seán O'Sullivan was very influential, particularly early on. He chipped in two fine points when scores were difficult to come by. Kerry, in fact, picked up most of the breaking ball, particularly at midfield.

At times the Kerry tactics looked a bit one dimensional, always looking for the aerial route into Kieran Donaghy. And yet Donaghy had another fine game, and deserves enormous credit for the amount of ball he won and the frees he got, sometimes balls he had no right to win. He kept his head, and if you were to compare the Munster final that Cork won, Donaghy has proved to be the main difference for Kerry. He's one of the main reasons Kerry came out on top this time.

He's grown in stature again, because when things didn't go right for him early on he kept his head, and just said he'd try harder for the next ball. He concentrated on the ball and chased back, all the little things that mightn't always be spectacular. His general effort was very impressive.

Mike Frank Russell also raised his game, having his best display to date, and has really turned his form around. And the Gooch is moving in the right direction as well. With ball in hand those three - Russell, Gooch and Donaghy - are always a danger, either with a score or an incisive pass.

But what I feel the Kerry management will be most satisfied with is at their defensive display. Séamus Moynihan played just in front of the full-back line, and that worked well. Diarmuid Murphy had very little on his plate all afternoon, because of that cover in front of him.

Overall the Kerry defence were in perfect mood, adopting a no-nonsense approach: mark tightly and keep the score down. The full-back line hadn't been playing well so far. I felt they came up trumps yesterday, and you need that confidence going into an All-Ireland final.

One other thing that impresses me about this Kerry team is their ability to kick the ball, both in passing and for points. They're ahead of all other teams in the country. This allowed them to open up the Cork defence over time. They're willing, and able, to kick the ball 30 or 40 yards, and that also saves the legs. It's a huge asset for them.

As the game wore on Cork looked increasingly laboured, and found it difficult to find clear openings for scores. They just didn't have enough of a scoring spread in the forward line, and even when they had options to kick a point they often made the extra pass, which to me showed a lack of confidence. And of course that suited the Kerry defence.

Obviously Cork lacked some of the intensity of the Munster final, and that makes you wonder about teams that peak for the provincial finals. If you peak in July then there's a danger it could come against you in August.

I still feel Billy Morgan will be quite happy with the progress they've made since last year, so the future is still good.

The loss of Graham Canty proved as telling as suspected. Cork were struggling all day at midfield, and when you're losing that badly it's very difficult to get the quality possession into their forwards, They also missed Ger Spillane and Anthony Lynch's driving forward runs.

Looking at Mayo's victory earlier on, part of it seemed a case of one game too many game for Laois.

They looked tired and leg-weary. But the Mayo tactic of running at them did upset Laois, and if anything they should have won with more to spare.

Mickey Moran knows what they need to work on before playing Dublin next Sunday. He's a proud, astute coach, and I think they can make more out of their possession in the final third of the field.