Kerry legend Ger O'Keeffe says Dublin enjoyed "a huge advantage" going into this year's All-Ireland final against the Kingdom.

Jim Gavin's men played two semi-finals against Mayo at Croke Park since the Munster champions had accounted for Tyrone in their semi-final and the Kerry great believes this gave the eventual winners a decisive edge:

"One of the most important things not given enough of credence was that Kerry hadn't played a game for four weeks, and Dublin had two games," O'Keeffe told The Irish Times. "Dublin seemed more up for it and no matter how much training you do, no matter how good you feel you're doing in training, you can't beat match practice.

"The ideal scenario for Dublin is that they won the replay and had two weeks to a final - brilliant. But Kerry were there for two weeks not knowing who they were going to play. It's one of the anomalies in gaelic football, in the championship.

"If the first game in the semi-finals is a straight result and if there's a draw in the second semi-final, the team that plays the second game has two matches while the other team has nothing.It's a huge advantage.

"There could be something said for playing the semi-finals on a Saturday and Sunday, on the same weekend. Teams from the west, and Kerry, might make a weekend of it and while it might affect business, it means that people travelling for Kerry, Mayo or Donegal might get two games to watch. I don't think it would affect crowds - it might improve them."

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