Analysis: In the last few minutes of yesterday's anti-climax my thoughts drifted back to the 15-point beating Kerry received from Meath in the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final.

That victory was of very little use to Seán Boylan's men against Galway in the final.

This victory was also of little benefit in preparation for an All-Ireland final. More than anyone, Jack O'Connor would surely have preferred a tougher examination from their greatest rivals. Watching Mike McCarthy saunter up for the last point, you could see it was a training spin. It was farcical stuff really.

Still, Kerry are back where they want to be but Tipperary, Limerick, Mayo and Cork twice have failed to push them, the exception, arguably, being Limerick in the Munster semi-final.

After the match I heard O'Connor admitting they have been dreaming of achieving the two-in-a-row. They had kept that very quiet all year, only talking about the performance and what is directly in front of them. If they want to continue their traditional dominance of the sport though this goal must be attained.

O'Connor himself is now on the cusp of greatness within Kerry, which is the ultimate accolade in Gaelic football.

Páidí Ó Sé did win two All-Irelands but not in a row, and in modern times this has been considered almost impossible.

Also, Kerry won last year's All-Ireland without beating either Armagh or Tyrone so they will get a chance to finally answer the criticism that followed that success.

I noticed talking to Kerry people this week there was an apprehension within the county. Of course on this evidence it was uncalled for, as it was incredible how poor Cork were.

The result doesn't do justice to the progress Billy Morgan has made this year and is a rather depressing end for them.

It does, however, keep with the markers laid down by Armagh and Tyrone in their dismantling of Laois and Dublin.

That is the big picture as far as Kerry players are concerned and they are still firmly on course.

In the Munster final the Cork midfield won its share of possession, especially in the first half but within six minutes yesterday Kerry had taken complete control without winning a huge amount of possession.

They targeted Nicholas Murphy, in turn taking the gloss off his great season, in the same meticulous manner in which their Northern counterparts have ruthlessly contained the best players from Leinster.

The main difference was Kerry were getting team scores. Any possession Cork did get was wasted by clueless decision-making and a complete lack of method. Everything that went their way throughout the year deserted them here. Especially the big-game players.

Take Brendan Jer O'Sullivan. He was outstanding against Galway but yesterday was never once a threat. He was so anonymous I thought he had been taken off.

Another essential leader was Philip Clifford, but he punched the ball wide when Cork desperately needed a score before half-time.

People can say the game was over with the Eoin Brosnan goal in the second half, after the Gooch had hit the post, but realistically it was ended in the 17th minute as a contest when Colm Cooper made it 0-6 to 0-2, because the Kerry pattern never erred thereafter.

Their forwards' movement has only been equalled by Tyrone.

There were other positives. For instance, when Cork became desperate for a goal late on, the Kerry rearguard refused to buckle.

The midfield of Darragh Ó Sé and William Kirby also finally found their groove while the bench were effective in keeping the momentum up, in particular Mike Frank Russell, scoring with his first touch.

I don't expect much more tinkering from O'Connor, Bryan Sheehan did a good job on his starting debut, but Mike Frank is in a similar position to Johnny Crowley last year in that he must be ravenous to start.

So we are down to the three everyone expected. It means for the first year in some time there have been no surprises.

A couple of draws, yes, but nothing like the romance of Fermanagh's run last year.

It is a tribute to the fine-tuning of the championship fixtures, where teams are getting adequate breaks.

Kerry have one more rest period to prepare themselves for a chance to become the best team of the modern era.