It?s a historic All-Ireland Final meeting between Kerry and Cork where anything can happen, but Paul Brennan says that the Kingdom should maintain the old order with a win over the Rebels

Familiar ground but new territory. Kerry and Cork in a summer rumble isn?t always front page news, but when the footballers of the Kingdom and the Rebel county go cheek to jowl on the third Sunday in September it certainly merits ? demands ? one?s full attention.

There?s a school of thought (not sure how many subscribers) out there that feels this particular All-Ireland Final is devalued because its protagonists are billeted on the extreme south-west of the country. The same clique who, presumably, didn?t think much of the all Ulster showdown in 2003.

But there?s no denying that for all the recent meetings between Kerry and Cork ? this will be the 13th championship meeting between the counties this decade and the fifth time they will have locked horns since the start of last year?s campaign ? this one in the one that matters.

Munster semi-finals, Munster finals, All-Ireland semi-finals ? they matter not a jot after Sunday.

Former Dublin manager Kevin Heffernan admitted that beating Kerry en route to claiming an All-Ireland title was the equivalent of winning two titles.

Billy Morgan would surely trade Cork?s six All-Irelands ? three of which he was directly involved in ? for victory on Sunday. Suffice to say, Billy doesn?t like Kerry.

There?s little love in the other direction either, and while, as far as we know, Pat O?Shea harbours no personal animosity to anyone on Leeside, the Kerry manager cannot countenance losing either. The stakes are that high.

For a game like this so many factors apart from pure football ability ? the sense of occasion, recent history between the teams, injuries ? come into the mix that we might as well paint one fly green and gold, the other red, and send them scarpering up a wall to pick a winner.

Kerry are defending All-Ireland champions. Cork went via the Qualifiers after losing the Munster Final to the Kingdom.

Kerry came within a whisker of losing to Monaghan in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Cork made a bad Louth team and a deplorable Sligo team look half decent in the Qualifiers.

Kerry showed huge character and composure in the face of a Dublin onslaught in their semi-final. Cork never let a fancied Meath side out of the stalls in theirs.

Kerry are bidding to become the first team since 1990 to successfully defend their All-Ireland title. The last team to do it was Cork.

Kerry lost and then regained Darragh Ó Sé to injury during the Dublin game. Cork lost James Masters after the Sligo game and have him back. Now they have lost Anthony Lynch.

Crikey! It would give Nostradamus a headache.

About the only thing certain about Sunday?s historic final is that neither side will be found wanting for effort, heart and sheer bloody-mindedness.

Cliches will abound about the ?team that wants it most? and the ?hungrier side will win?.

Though he is remaining obstinately tight-lipped with the media, much will be made of the ?Billy Morgan factor?, of how Morgan?s passion for Cork football and distaste for Kerry football is as good as a 16th man on the Cork team.

Pat O?Shea won?t escape the spotlight either. Mercifully ? and refreshingly ? the Kerry manager has been nothing short of open, honest and courteous to the media.

However, when the newspaper inches and the radio airwaves are filled by Sunday morning, O?Shea and Morgan will become just another sideshow to the main event.

All-Ireland Finals are seldom, if ever, won in newspapers or dressing rooms or sidelines even. This game will be won by the players who march behind the band and those called from the stand to play a part.

Usually the respective teams? paths to the final give some measure of where the destiny of the title may rest, but consider the evidence. Kerry had a facile win over Waterford in their Munster semi-final before they met ? and beat ? Cork by two points in this year?s Munster final.

Cork?s route to that provincial final was via two comprehensive wins over Tipperary and Limerick.

Kerry struggled for much of their anxious All-Ireland quarter-final win over Monaghan before showing the old Kerry qualities in their win over Dublin in the semi-final. Cork bungled their way past Louth and Sligo in the Qualifers before turning it on in their emphatic win over Meath in the semi-final.

There are still some questions over the Kerry defence, the fact that Cork have conceded just one goal six games, the battle for primary possession at midfield, the loss of Anthony Lynch, the return of James Masters, the strength of the Kerry bench, the form of Declan O?Sullivan, the threat of Kieran Donaghy.

Key to the outcome on Sunday will come down to a number of specifics.

The duel between Darragh Ó Sé and Nicholas Murphy. How Graham Canty handles Kieran Donaghy (though he may be detailed on Colm Cooper). How Masters fits back into a Cork attack which thrived in his absence.

How Noel O?Leary and Paul Galvin face off against each other. How Cork best use their 6?7? man Michael Cussen. If Declan O?Sullivan can put in another ?man of the match? performance; whether the Kerry captain can filch another crucial goal; whether the Rebels can defend their patch and not concede a goal.

Inponderables aplenty.

For this writer, Dublin was the key test for this Kerry team and they passed. Padraig Reidy, Seamus Scanlon and Killian Young came through the toughest battle of their senior careers with reputations intact, enhanced even.

The Ó Sé brothers, O?Sullivan, Cooper, Bryan Sheehan ? and others ? made a statement against Dublin that will surely have sent rippled down the Lee. Of course, Cork won?t shudder at the enormity of the task ahead. Indeed, one sensed after their last meeting in Killarney back in July that Cork and their manager wouldn?t have minded another ?cut? at Kerry.

They?ve got their wish. But can they deliver? Kerry?s Croke Park experience, the Indian sign they hold over Cork in Croke Park, their desire to emulate Cork?s back-to-back feat from 17 years ago will all go some way to saying Cork won?t deliver. Ultimately, though, it has to be said that Kerry have that bit more class, the better players in key positions, the forwards to get the important scores at the important times.

That, and the smarts to know how to win in Croke Park.

Kerry to win by four points.