By Cian O'Connell
Kevin O'Brien's smile told the story on another utterly satisfying St Patrick's Day for Corofin.
A selector in 2015 O'Brien has subsequently involved in the 2018 and 2019 All Ireland triumphs as manager.
So there was no disguising the sense of satisaction for O'Brien as Corofin retained the Andy Merrigan Cup was retained with a classy and convincing win over Dr Crokes.
"The lads played really really well today," O'Brien reflected.
"We knew coming up to this game, playing against Crokes, being champions two years ago, the lesson of football showed two years ago. We didn’t really mention that coming into the game.
"We played with great commitment today, we challenged very very hard for the ball. We threw our bodies on the line, and that’s excellent from a team that won an All-Ireland 12 months ago.
"They’re a great bunch and I’m absolutely delighted for them."
Jason Leonard and Gary Sice pounced for splendid first half goals, but it wasn't something Corofin specifically targeted.
"I don’t think so," O'Brien responded. "In the game, Daithi (Burke) got a point early on and it was a good goal chance.
"Dylan Wall was in as well, he hit the crossbar. We just seemed to be getting in behind them anytime we went forward.
"The two goals, the first one in particular was well-worked. We’re always looking to create the chance, we moved the ball through the hands as quick as possible. That gave us good opportunities."
Renowned for their analytical approach Corofin didn't overly focus on Crokes' All Ireland semi-final triumph over Mullinalaghta St Columba's according to O'Brien.
"We don’t take one game as analysis," O'Brien acknowledged. "We take them as a group. I think the Mullinalaghta game, because of the sending off, is hard to analyse.
"They play the game a bit like us, we play the same way all the time. You don’t have to do an awful lot of analysis on the likes of Crokes.
"They’ve plenty of pace, they move the ball through the hand. I probably felt going into it that we got on top in midfield which Ronan (Steede) and Daithi did very well there, we got a lot of breaks. That gave us a great platform to build on."
Dr Crokes selector Niall O'Callaghan praised Corofin's approach. "We got schooled by the best team," was O'Callaghan's verdict. "You can say nothing went right and you can give all the platitudes and excuses you want to give.
"We were beaten by a far better team. Congratulations to Corofin. They showed us how to play a game of football. They took away everything we brought that we thought was good and they're a serious outfit and they're All-Ireland champions and they're not for nothing. We hold our heads up when we're beaten by the better team."