Cora Staunton: 'Phenomenal' Kerry banish early doubts

We kind of suspected it might happen. The talent is there. Kerry finally clicking into gear.

Tyrone were cast aside by double scores in Saturday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final at Croke Park. And while we expected the Kingdom to show their attacking prowess, in spite of David Clifford having a quieter game than usual, it was the way they went about their defensive duties that was most impressive.

A marked contrast to two years ago - the day when Tyrone exploited frailties in the Kingdom rearguard to shade an All-Ireland semi-final by the bare minimum.

With Paddy Tally's influence now clear to see, Kerry's are no longer brittle when it comes to minding the house. They were determined that their Ulster rivals, an itch they often found hard to scratch going back nearly two decades, would not breach the last line of their defence on Saturday evening.

Onwards now to a last-four date with Derry in the Sam Maguire race.

.@duckie15 hails devastating Kerry after they made light work of Tyrone #rtegaa #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/4tvD6obiyY

Cora Staunton's doubts as to Kerry's well-being with regard to a successful All-Ireland defence were allayed by the manner in which they went about their business against the Tyrone.

Speaking on The Sunday Game, she said: "The first and the second halves of the Kerry-Tyrone and Dublin-Mayo were very similar. Kerry kicked away in the second half. A lot of people have been talking about Kerry, myself included, and we weren't sure what they were going to give this year as All-Ireland champions.

"They had a quietish league and then got through the Muunster Championship as expected. The defeat to Mayo down in Kerry was one where we wondered, are they struggling?

"They then struggled against Cork and then had