Gavin Cummiskey talks to Dublin's Ciarán Whelan, a player whose mental strength has helped him to deliver so effectively for his county in this year's championship.

Whether they win, lose or draw (again) on Saturday, the negative certainties about Dublin football have been eradicated this year. Team selection had been hugely unpredictable in recent times, with players like Shane Ryan shunted from forward to back to the bench from week to week. Ditto Bryan Cullen. Both have been given the same number on their backs since the National League.

There was the free-taking problem as people continually harked back to Charlie Redmond for the last semblance of consistency in the most crucial of departments. Then, as they did in the 1970s, a club in Marino called St Vincent's solved this problem, even if it is a little early to be comparing Tomás Quinn to Jimmy Keaveney.

Their worst flaw, however, was the inability to finish games off. It was said they lacked the mental strength, and the main culprit was the most talented son to wear blue since 1995. This year Ciarán Whelan has unburdened himself of this criticism and the rest have followed suit.

Against Tyrone he fielded nine clean balls in the first half and broke umpteen others into waiting Dublin hands. In those opening 35 minutes he gave Seán Cavanagh - supposedly the next Australian Rules-bound Irish star - a lesson in how to control a game. Tyrone did shut him out after the break as Joe McMahon and Enda McGinley were switched to midfield.

Also, goalkeeper Pascal McConnell was obviously ordered to redirect his kick-outs anywhere but in the vicinity of the most dominant force on the field. Whelan never faded though.

"It went well, the first half, but they tactically changed things around in the second half. I spent a bit of time under the Hogan Stand while they were kicking the ball the other side. That's just something we have to work on.

"I wasn't fading out of the game, I was just not getting a chance to compete. I wasn't really tired. They just broke a lot of ball but you kind of expect them to do that. Any good team will be expected to turn things around. If they didn't they would be lynched."

If the video cam was introduced to Gaelic football it would have shown Whelan's continued endeavour after the break. There he was sprinting 40 yards crossfield to try to counter the new ploy. One late foray to the Cusack Stand side saw him receiving a belt to the head, from Shane Ryan in fact, as a number of players returned to earth.

"I suppose Shane wouldn't be as tall and dominant in the air so they were targeting his side. Shane has complemented me very well this year and we have a good partnership going but when I was dragged out to one side it made it difficult. That's how I got hurt; I just arrived that bit late, trying to get across. I was hedging my bets, you know.

"The difference is we'll be ready for it this time. They kind of caught us on the hop by making a lot of positional changes. They have great options, good strength in depth, but so have we. We have fellas we can bring in as well so it will be interesting to say the least."

Whelan's former partner Darren Magee has been back on board for over a month now and must be nearing match fitness. Another key element has been Quinn. Dessie Farrell calls him the ice-man. A reliable free-taker makes all the industry worth while.

"It is a comfort because when you reflect back over the last six or seven years and talk to some of the older guys, if we'd had a free-taker in a lot of the games that we lost by a point or two it could been a different result. We have great confidence in Mossie. I was off for the last two or three minutes but when we were attacking I was hoping we would draw a free because I knew Mossie would put it over the bar," says Whelan.

When speaking about the change in personality of this Dublin team, Whelan continually returns to the "learning curve". The talk of hype and getting on a roll is left behind with the Tommy Lyons years.

Dublin's hardened edge during the National League was evident but it was not until the Meath victory that this new sense of calm became fully apparent.

"The team has played with a bit of character this year. Digging out results and showing a never-give-up attitude. Obviously we will look at the second half, that first 20, 25 minutes, where can we improve on that. Likewise, Tyrone are looking at the first half and where they can improve.

"It's going to be a tactical battle and might not be the spectacle that it was the last day.

"It's very difficult for any team to dominate for 70 minutes. A lot of teams are suffering the same. Laois have had some bad first halves. We haven't been beaten and that's the important thing. We'll just keep going and try to improve; get more of a percentage of time throughout the game where we are dominating."

Ciarán Whelan dominating for 70 minutes. A scary prospect for any opponent.