LETHAL WEAPONS

The battle of the keepers may decide Sunday's final, with Patton and Ryan both potential heroes

- BY PAT NOLAN

FOR all the revolution that the new rules have brought to football, the most profound has been around the kickout.

And so, in an All-Ireland final that is exceptionally difficult to call, it's reasonable to advance the theory that, for all the brilliance of the likes of David Clifford and Michael Murphy in either attack, the respective goalkeepers will wield the greatest influence on the outcome.

Shaun Patton is hailed as one of the leading netminders in the game, arguably the best, and his talents will be exposed to final day for the first time this Sunday.

It may be a surprise to many that the Donegal 'keeper has yet to win an All Star, though that's largely down to his county's failure to reach the latter stage of the Championship for most of his inter-county career, now in its eighth season.

This week, former Kerry star Marc Ó Sé stated that "if we can stop Patton, we've a great chance - we've one hand on the cup", citing the length and accuracy of his restarts.

Shane Ryan, meanwhile, despite winning an All-Ireland and All Star in 2022, doesn't quite command the same profile as other goalkeepers like Patton, Stephen Cluxton, Rory Beggan and Niall Morgan.