Dublin's victory was thoroughly merited and the catalyst for the win was Mark Vaughan. He is unpredictable and has a refreshing way of playing the game that upsets defences. Meath certainly had no answer to him on the day.

It was a brave decision by the Dublin management to hand him the free-taking duties and he certainly repaid that faith spectacularly. Being given that responsibility infused confidence in his general play and he kicked some magnificent points. His contribution also helped Dublin to settle and it had a knock-on effect for his team-mates.

Vaughan being nominated to take the frees was always going to make it difficult for Tomás Quinn, and that showed in a disappointing performance. He was largely peripheral to the contest, unable to garner confidence from kicking a few frees. The Dubs certainly improved several aspects of their performance from the drawn game and one of the key areas was midfield.

Ciarán Whelan had a colossal game, one of his finest in a blue jersey. His partnership with Shane Ryan is arguably a better combination than the Whelan/Darren Magee axis.

Ryan's work ethic and general mobility allow him to sweep up a great deal of ball and he was supported in this role by the Dublin half-back line, who were much sharper yesterday.

The dominance in this area - apart from a 15-minute spell at the end of the second half - offered the twin assets of starving the Meath forwards and being able to funnel plenty of possession into their own six players.

I was especially taken with the performance of the Dublin full back Ross McConnell, who boasts all the credentials to become a top-quality defender.

In general the Dublin backs were a lot tighter yesterday, particularly David Henry, who did a good job of chaperoning Graham Geraghty. Only Stephen Bray managed to escape the shackles with any regularity and he produced a marvellous contribution from minimal opportunity.

Cian Ward was well marshalled by Paul Griffin and never looked like repeating his heroics of the last day.

There were still aspects of Dublin's display that will concern Paul Caffrey. The lung-bursting forays of Bryan Cullen, Barry Cahill and Paul Casey upfield require a massive physical effort and too often there was no end product, ball carelessly tossed away.

It's almost as if Dublin don't trust their inside forwards. They have got to mix up the ball going in more or risk becoming predictable and therefore easier to defend against. The odd early, long ball certainly wouldn't go astray in terms of keeping opponents guessing.

There appears little method to the Dublin forward play and this will have to be improved if they are to become genuine All-Ireland title contenders. The forwards as a unit look like a crowd that got together in the dressingroom beforehand for the first time. There is a general lack of awareness of better-placed colleagues, players are crowding each other out and there is simply too much kick and hope when taking on ridiculously difficult shooting opportunities.

Dublin's forwards need to be more aware, show better peripheral vision and offer more fluent and intelligent running lines. It would, however, have been a travesty had they lost yesterday, and the consolation is that they'll improve again from this outing.

Meath are a work in progress and in fairness no one would relish playing them in the play-offs. Their backs need to get tighter, while they have to address a ponderous midfield. That lack of mobility meant they struggled to grab the breaking ball. They couldn't match Dublin's intensity on the day and lost too many key battles.

Tyrone's victory in Ulster made a mockery of the assertion that Donegal were favoured going into the contest. Brian McIver's men never turned up in what panned out as a damp squib - albeit with the rider that Tyrone showed in their football an uncanny resemblance to the All-Ireland-winning side of 2005, in terms of quality.

Donegal must now ask themselves whether all their energy and appetite went into winning the National League.

Tyrone offered a compelling package of slick football, driven by the half-back line and finished with some aplomb by the inside forwards.

On the evidence of this performance they will be serious contenders at the business end of the championship.

All the qualities that are good about Tyrone football were once again in evidence: the willingness of their half-back line to attack with method and clever movement. They should really have killed the contest by half-time but even that is a minor criticism when taken against the 70 minutes.

Owen Mulligan has shown a timely return to form. Seán Cavanagh was his usual marauding presence yet for the first time in a while was probably outshone by his midfield partner, Kevin Hughes, the former's shooting notwithstanding.

Mickey Harte has unearthed a prodigious young talent in Raymond Mulgrew, a centre half forward in the Brian McGuigan mould, who seems to possess the same qualities.

Tyrone played with pace and assurance in their handling and this victory will send an ominous warning to the rest of the country, as will the return of Stephen O'Neill.

For Donegal, there is some serious soul-searching required before they embrace a long and demanding road back to Croke Park.