David Clifford has been named Football Player of the Week.
The excitement in Kerry about David Clifford's maassive potential was underlined by the landslide victory the St. Brendan's College, Killarney schoolboy enjoyed in this week's GAA.ie Football Player of the Week vote.
Clifford inspired 'The Sem' to victory over St. Pat's Maghera in last Saturday's Hogan Cup Final and was rewarded with a whopping 59 per cent of the votes cast on the GAA's Official Twitter (@officialgaa), Facebook and Instagram pages.
That left him well clear of Cavan's Gearoid McKiernan in second and Dublin's Dean Rock in third.
GAA.ie FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
1. David Clifford (St. Brendan's College, Killarney) - 5,552 votes (59 per cent)
2. Gearoid McKiernan (Cavan) - 2462 votes (26 per cent)
3. Dean Rock (Dublin) - 1355 votes (15 per cent)
Nominating a schoolboy for our Footballer of the Week was a break with convention, but David Clifford produced such a special individual performance for St. Brendan's of Killarney in their Hogan Cup Final win on Saturday over St. Pat's, Maghera that it would have been a travesty not to include him. His individual haul of 2-5, 2-3 of it from play, was something special, and there was a touch of class about everything he did when he got his hands on the ball. Still only 16, Clifford is clearly a star in the making. St. Brendan's manager Gary McGrath saw fit to compare him to Maurice Fitzgerald after the match, and praise does not come higher than that down in Kerry.
In second-place with 26 per cent was Cavan's Gearoid McKiernan. He came close to being nominated last week too for hitting three spectacular points in Cavan's win Laois, and there's no way his claim could be ignored this time. He was the main man for the Breffni County as their rip-roaring four-point win over Galway on Sunday secured promotion to Division One of the Allianz Football League for the first time since 2002. The powerful centre-forward produced a stellar individual performance that saw him kick five points from play and lead the Cavan charge all afternoon. McKiernan is far more than just a finisher too. His ball-winning ability was crucial in poor weather conditions, and when Galway tried to move the ball out of defence they usually ran into a brick wall when they ventured down McKiernan's channel.
In third place with 15 per cent was Dublin's Dean Rock. The Ballymun man shed his 'super-sub' reputation last year by playing in every single one of Dublin's matches from the O'Byrne Cup right through to the All-Ireland Final, and he is clearly in no mood to step aside for anyone this year. Dublin were slightly fortunate to get away from Carrick-On-Shannon with a one-point win over Roscommon on Sunday, and it would not have been possible were it not for the metronomic accuracy of Rock. He hit an impressive total of 1-8, including seven surely struck frees. The goal was expertly taken as he played a nice one-two with Eoghan O'Gara before slotting the ball nervelessly past the advancing Roscommon goalkeeper Darren O'Malley.
Players of the Week are decided based on votes cast by followers of @officialgaa on Twitter, on the Official GAA Facebook Page and on the Official GAA Instagram page
