For a start, it is the first time in the history of Kerry GAA that these two sides have met in a senior county final.

On top of that, the game incorporates the traditional town versus country rivalry, while it also has all the merits and disadvantages of a club team against a district board side.

It will resurrect the age-old debate - do club teams or district board teams have the advantage when it comes to winning county championships?

Statistics show that Laune Rangers won the first county championship in 1889. 63 per cent of county championships have been won by club teams, with district board sides making up the other 37 per cent.

It is generally accepted that once district board teams get over the first or second round, they tend to become more organised, have better turnouts at training and, as a result, their teamwork improves.

Because of the fact that they can pick a panel from a greater number of clubs, there is every possibility that they will be better individually.

The club team, on the other hand, tend to have the better chance in the first or second rounds, due to their superior team work, which would have developed as result of playing together continuously over the years.

And because of their smaller pick of players, they might not be as good individually as the district board team.

Statistically, Kerins O’Rahillys have the advantage on Sunday, while Mid Kerry have the advantage of being able to pick the best players from a number of clubs such as Beaufort, Keel, Mill-town/Castlemaine, Glenbeigh/Glencar and Cromane.

Allowing district board teams into the county championship gives players from novice, junior and intermediate clubs the opportunity of playing and being successful in the county’s premier competition.

On Sunday, Kerins O’Rahillys will be striving to win their seventh title. They won their last in 2002.

Mid Kerry have had a longer wait as their last senior county championship success came back in 1992, when they were captained by former Kerry inter-county player, Seán Burke. The burning question is who is going to win the 2008 Kerry senior football championship?

As a club, Mid Kerry have made great progress in recent years. They are very well organised, and over the years they have pursued a very focussed youth policy, which they are now reaping the benefits.

They are fortunate to have acquired the services of former Kerry football trainer, Jack O’Connor, who is well equipped to get this team over the final hurdle.

One gets the idea that if O’Rahillys win on Sunday, they could, quite possibly, be like the great John Mitchels team of the early 1960s, and go on to dominate Kerry football for the next few years.

Mid Kerry, on the other hand, have been very impressive on the road to the final. Team manager, James Sheehan, has done a great job.

Mid Kerry will be worried about the fact that they haven’t had a competitive game in the last three weeks, while Jack O’Connor will also be concerned that his side have had to play tough games, Sunday after Sunday, for the past three weeks.

Fatigue could set in, because many of the Tralee side’s players are young and they may not be mature enough to take these continuous and repetitive knocks on the soft, wet ground.

Normally, hard, competitive games on many consecutive Sundays will toughen up a team and benefit them. Nevertheless, when key players are young, these games tend to wear them down quicker, when it comes to a freshness point of view.

That means that the advantage is with Mid Kerry.

I also believe that the weather conditions on Sunday will have a major bearing on the outcome. If the conditions are soft and wet, the advantage will swing towards Mid Kerry because they are the more mature side, in terms of age and physique.

Mid Kerry surprised everyone when they comprehensively defeated many peoples’ favourites for the championship, Dr Crokes, in the last 16, as they won 1-14 to 0-8.

They followed this up by wins over Kenmare and Laune Rangers.

Mid Kerry are a very well balanced side and they can call on the services of current inter-county stars, Sean O’Sullivan, Darran O’Sullivan, Donnacha Walsh and Aidan O’Shea.

They have two very good attacking wing backs in Fergal Griffin and Joe McGillycuddy, while up front Kieran Foley has proved to be a more than reliable forward.

Kerins O’Rahillys have no shortage of inter-county material either, with men such as Michéal Quirke, Declan Quill, the Moran brothers, Brian and David, and the Walsh brothers, Tommy and Barry John, to call on.

The David Moran/Michéal Quirke midfield partnership is the best in the whole county, and this should give the Strand Road side the advantage around the middle of the field.

Yet somehow I just feel that their tough games might catch up with Kerins O’Rahillys, and it might just be a year too soon for what is a younger side. Therefore, I give a reluctant vote to Mid Kerry, mainly based on the fact that they will be fresher coming into the game.

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