'Off the charts' measurement of David Clifford's class

The expectations on Kerry talisman David Clifford are "off the charts" and yet the Fossa man could still end up as 2023's Player of the Year, says Ciarán Whelan.

The Kingdom fell short in making it back-to-back titles as Dublin rolled back the years with a hard-fought two-point victory in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final.

Clifford was unable to match last year’s extraordinary performance in the decider against Galway (0-08, 0-03f, 0-2m), picking off two from play along with a free as he was followed closely by Mick Fitzsimons, with some uncharacteristic wides part of the mix.

With the bar set incredibly high by the four-time All-Star winner, any slippage from such lofty standards comes in for sharp scrutiny.

In just his second year with the Kerry seniors, Clifford hit six points from play across two games against Dublin in the decider and replay as Jim Gavin bowed out with five-in-a-row.

In the subsequent three finals leading into Sunday, of the 36 forwards who started the respective deciders, only eight scored more than his two from play, including his own virtuoso performance against Galway in 2022.

An outstanding pass for Paul Geaney's goal, a brace from play and a free was balanced out somewhat by four wides and an effort that dropped short, with the last wide in particular a sucker punch given it would have brought the Kingdom level once again in injury time.

"I’ve reflected on it the last couple of days, the pressure on that kid is just off the charts," Whelan told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "The weight of expectation that he carried into the final, it doesn’t even bear thinking about.

"He was fantastic all year. His contribution in the final – Paul Mannion was man of the match and he got four points – and the narrative coming