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Well, well. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that the league final would throw up another Mayo-Kerry meeting?

The final round of Division 1 was a wild ride, none more so than for Mayo, who were perched on a knife edge between winding up in a league final and falling into Division 2 right up until the final whistle.

While the final table has an odd look, with one point separating a league finalist and a relegated team, in some respects it's no coincidence.

When you've certain teams, who win a few games early on, indicating that a league final probably isn't worth the hassle and pulling up the handbrake in the final weeks, you're likely to get a situation where teams converge around the middle.

This isn't to criticise any teams who adopt that approach - it's entirely understandable, especially for teams in Ulster and Connacht who have very competitive provincial championships to navigate. As has been noted already, that's an issue first and foremost of the squashed calendar, which has to be sorted or else the same scenario will play out again.

It was striking that all the teams in Division 1 and 2 who were threatened with relegation won their games last weekend and anyone who was safe got beaten - Derry had nothing to play for, for a different reason in that they were already down.

The upshot of it all is that Mayo top the table despite a negative score difference, which I'm pretty sure is a first (maybe some football historians/ anoraks will confirm) It's one in the eye for the pundits who were touting them for relegation early doors (whoever they are...)

It's an encouraging turn of events from a Mayo perspective given that things looked very gloomy after two rounds of the league. They dug out an important win against