Before that successful 2018 campaign, Crokes hadn't won the Dublin title in eight years but they have barely put a foot wrong since, winning a remarkable 45 out of the 49 championship games they've played.

The 2018 season was a novel one for Dublin clubs generally because it marked the introduction of a new group format and Crokes, with laser-like focus, have won all 18 of the group games they've contested.

In all, their talented crew of players have claimed four Dublin titles, two Leinster titles and an All-Ireland in that near six-season spell and if they win again on Saturday as expected they will become the first club to do a Leinster football three-in-a-row.

Current captain Shane Cunningham, the reigning GAA Club Footballer of the Year, has been there for the entire journey.

"The fear of failure motivates me," said Cunningham, outlining what drives him. "That's not just in football, it's (the fear of) not achieving the things you want to achieve generally. The fear of not starting would push you on, or the fear of not playing well in a game, of not playing well in front of your friends and family and Robbie. As a starting point, I'd look at those things more so."

The Robbie that Cunningham refers to is Robbie Brennan who took over just a few months before the pandemic in 2020. Prior to that, he'd been a joint manager with Johnny Magee. On his sole watch, Crokes have only lost two of the 35 championship games they've played - the 2020 Dublin semi-final defeat to Ballymun Kickhams and the early 2022 All-Ireland final reversal against Kilcoo.

Those defeats, as well as the 2018 Leinster final loss to Mullinalaghta and the 2019 county semi-final loss to Thomas Davis, had a big impact on the team and appeared to nudge them towards a more conservative approach.

So while they possess the potential to tear opposing defences asunder with All-Stars Paul Mannion and Shane Walsh in attack, as well as former Dublin seniors like Cunningham and Dara Mullin, they are often content to play a more strategic game.

Since that Ballymun loss in 2020, they've played 30 championship matches, winning 29 of those, and their average concession is just 10.8 points per game.

There were signs of slippage earlier in this campaign though. In the Dublin championship alone, Castleknock hit them for 1-14, Skerries struck 0-17 and Raheny, at the semi-final stage, blasted 2-15 and took Crokes all the way to penalties.

"Against Castleknock we were five or six points down after 10 minutes," noted Cunningham. "And look, Raheny should have beaten us, 100 percent. The way we performed that day wasn't good enough.

"Maybe Raheny was a kind of a turning point for us. We kind of realised that if we put in another performance similar to that, Ballyboden were going to beat us. Ballyboden were flying. In training, those two weeks really reflected that. It was really hard, intense training. I knew going into that game that we had stepped it up a notch."

One of the most impressive things about Crokes' winning streak and continued dominance is that they've had to rely on new leaders to step up at different stages. Mannion missed significant chunks of action following ankle and knee operations while Dublin midfielder Craig Dias only returned from a medium-term injury for the recent Leinster semi-final win over St Mary's, Ardee. Since the county final, they've lost Micheal Mullin, Cillian O'Shea and Conor Casey - Mullin and O'Shea started last January's All-Ireland final win while Casey came on - because of travel commitments.

Cunningham feels corner-back Dan O'Brien has been an unsung hero throughout the transition.

"Dan was in with the Dubs this year, personally I was surprised at his lack of game time," said Cunningham. "Obviously I wasn't inside the camp or I didn't see how he was training. But just looking at Dan with us and how he trains, he's just top drawer with the ball. From a defending point of view, he can mark the best players as well."

Another three-in-a-row of sorts will be claimed if Crokes beat Naas having previously defeated them twice, at the beginning of 2022 in a Leinster final and later that year in a provincial quarter-final.

The players' familiarity with Croke Park should help though Cunningham isn't convinced about that.

"We are comfortable in it, for sure," he said. "But Naas have played there as well. They'll be comfortable as well. I don't think that will be too much of a determining factor."