Clifford uncorked - Can Rebels limit David's scoring damage?

It may be somewhat reductive to look at the career to date of David Clifford through the prism of numbers, but it is a decent starting point.

The most gifted footballer of his generation could well end his Kerry days as the best the county has ever produced, with his wide-ranging skillset, temperament and ability to make the most seasoned defenders, at best, appear like they are treading water.

Joe Canning aside perhaps, no minor player has been as widely spoken about before moving into the senior ranks.

Scoring 10-50 from play in 12 games across two All-Ireland winning minor campaigns will do that, and the transition to adult grade has been nothing short of seamless.

Today's match against Cork marks his 18th championship outing and while he has notched 6-68 in total, what is significant is that 5-58 of that has come from play, an average of just over 0-04 per game.

His league average from play (4.8) in the same period, across 27 games of Division 1 football, is even higher.

All of which makes the Fossa man’s record against Cork all the more curious.

The player who in 2017 outscored the entire Cork team in a minor championship meeting, has never really exposed the Rebels to the same degree at senior level. Or needed to.

Given Cork’s downward trajectory and their struggles to maintain something resembling a rivalry with their neighbours, Clifford’s haul of 0-11 – he failed to score from play in last year's provincial final drubbing of the Rebels – seems an unlikely return

One obvious factor is the competitive nature, or lack there of, in recent seasons.

Kerry won the 2018 and 2022 fixtures by an aggregate score of 39 points. The 23-year-old picked off two points in his first taste of the traditional fixture, while last year he was