Just when we thought we were down to one GAA blockbuster a week, along come Mayo to give us the mother of all weekends in Croke Park, where both All-Ireland semi-finals will be decided in the space of about 25 hours, unless of course Tyrone and Dublin ends in stalemate. Whatever about the impending Super Eights, we definitely have the Fantastic Fours.

To Saturday first where Kerry are expected to do what they always do in replays: win. That expectation is a little unfair on a Mayo team that were the better side six days previously but, as usual, they struggled to get over the line. It’s just never straightforward with Mayo, is it? At times last Sunday they were brilliant, direct and ever dangerous. At other times they were Mayo.

It is hard to get away from the conclusion that their chance has gone because Kerry have huge room for improvement, most notably from Paul Geaney and James O’Donoghue, two players who didn’t fire on all cylinders the first day. Such men are usually the story of replays.

This week, Stephen Rochford and his back-room team (although mostly him, as is the way with inter-county management these days) will be hearing about how wrong they were to sacrifice Aidan O’Shea’s impetus in the attack in deference to the aerial threat of Kieran Donaghy. The general consensus is that the move failed, mostly based on the ability of Donaghy to make a few telling hand-passes that created chances for others. It would appear that O’Shea’s brief was to limit the Tralee basketballer’s effectiveness in the air, which may have overlooked his cuteness on the ground.

Despite the tactic backfiring (to an extent), Mayo were still the better side throughout. They could and should have won. We can only wonder if Rochford would have been hailed as a genius if that had happened. It shouldn’t be forgotten either that while Donaghy is being credited with a hand, act or part in almost all of Kerry’s 2-14, some of those assists were simply hand-passes to the nearest Kingdom jersey. But we live in the age of over-analysis and overreaction; Mayo are now probably forced into playing O’Shea further up the field. Mark my words: Donaghy catches an early ball on Saturday and sets up a goal in double-quick time.

Replays take on a life of their own and rarely copy the drawn pattern, although all neutrals will hope for that because Sunday was a thrilling contest from start to finish. Instead, the second day seems to favour the teams that were lucky to survive their first day faults and, armed with that chastening knowledge and dented pride, tend to put the record straight next time out.

History suggests Kerry don’t lose replays (although Cork have beaten them in a few). Mayo’s replay record is in the eye of the beholder but one ingredient they don’t lack is experience of this situation. Last year’s All-Ireland final against the Dubs could have been won, as could the All-Ireland semi-final in Limerick of a few short years ago. They’ve also been in the second-chance saloon in Croke Park as recently as three weeks ago against Roscommon. They surely know what to expect. They must understand what it takes.

Where the Kingdom will point to more from Geaney and O’Donoghue, the Green and Red will look to Keith Higgins and Lee Keegan, to mention just two. And while we anticipate the match-ups to change, Kerry’s defensive frailties can hardly be solved in six days.

In years gone by, the likely scenario here would be a comfortable win for Kerry. I don’t see that happening on Sunday. A razor-thin Kerry win nonetheless.

Tyrone v Dublin

Sunday’s sellout is also compelling but for very different reasons. Can Tyrone choke the life out of the free-flowing Dublin? The blueprint is Donegal’s shock win over the Dubs in 2014 when Jim McGuinness’s team executed the game plan perfectly and caught Dublin on the hop in three clinical breakaways that all resulted in goals.

Fast-forward three years and the Dubs haven’t been beaten in championship since and have come up against some form of defensive system in every one of those contests. Their physicality, fitness, speed of movement and thought, allied to their all-round football instincts, has seen them prevail no matter what the number or quality of the defensive wall lined against them.

But there is a but. And it involves top-four teams, of which Tyrone unquestionably are. The Dubs struggle against them, naturally, but really have ridden their luck during this unbeaten stretch. They drew with Mayo in the 2015 semi-final and last year’s final; they struggled to pip Kerry in the final of 2015 and semi-final of 2016.

Tyrone can bring the physicality that Kerry and Mayo possessed. The Dubs, for all their supposed greatness, are not a team that wins the very big games with any real degree of comfort.

Maybe this is the summer they do that but until they do, they do not belong in the same conversation as the Kerry side of 1975-86.

So can Mickey Harte’s side summon the effort needed to knock the Dubs out of their stride? Undoubtedly they have the ability and in all probability will act as dirt in the Dubs’ petrol from an attacking point of view. But to pull off the upset they must raid forward with clinical results themselves.

And that perhaps is where they will fall short. The effort needed to quell Rock, O’Callaghan, Brogan, McManamon, Andrews, McCaffrey, Kilkenny and a fired-up Diarmuid Connolly (a few of the aforementioned will be impact subs Sunday) will be immense. Doing that while still retaining the energy to burst forward in consequential numbers is almost a superhuman ask.

The Red Hand do have players capable of sporadically matching up to the task. Shrewd exponents like Peter Harte, the Cavanaghs and Mattie Donnelly can all contribute, but the two Cavanaghs are now in their 30s – an ancient age for modern-day footballers at this level ...

Tyrone’s obvious improvement this year gives them a fighting chance of staying in this game. And they have added a potent bench with the likes of Ronan O’Neill and another couple of youngsters with valuable Croke Park experience.

Alas, it won’t be enough. The Dubs to advance after a battle that will stand to them. CL