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PwC Footballer of the Year nominees delivered for Dublin

Dublin's Jack McCaffrey and Stephen Cluxton are both nominated for the PwC Footballer of the Year award.

Dublin's Jack McCaffrey and Stephen Cluxton are both nominated for the PwC Footballer of the Year award.

By Cian O'Connell

It was a Gaelic Football year in which records were shredded and history was made.

Ultimately it ended with the sky blue flag perched on the summit again, a five in a row completed.

That it arrived following a replay triumph over Kerry merely added to the satisfaction levels sweeping through the capital.

These truly are special times for Dublin and the fact that three accomplished players are nominated for the PwC GAA-GPA Footballer of the Year award underlines the enduring excellence being delivered.

Stephen Cluxton journeyed through difficult days for Dublin when being reunited Sam Maguire was simply a dream. It turned into a reality in 2011 and seven titles have been accumulated since then.

Jack McCaffrey's daring adventure was evident throughout the campaign, especially prominent with a dynamic and delicious goal in the drawn All Ireland final. The speed of foot and thought the Clontarf clubman demonstrated when a special intervention was required illustrated his worth.

In attack so many Dublin forwards contributed, but Con O'Callaghan's relevance was noteworthy throughout.

Difficult moments were endured by Dublin initially against Mayo, but then O'Callaghan plundered a couple of goals.

In the All Ireland replay O'Callaghan was at his imperious best, powerful and potent.

Three undoubted and gifted performers.

Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton following the All Ireland SFC Final replay.

Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton following the All Ireland SFC Final replay.

STEPHEN CLUXTON

Where to start? Stephen Cluxton's role in the Dublin success story is well documented, but in the moments following the All Ireland replay triumph over Kerry, Jim Gavin sat down to discuss the game with the assembled media.

It wasn't long before talk switched to Cluxton's critical 54th minute save to deny Stephen O'Brien.

“That’s the result of hundreds of hours,” Gavin proclaimed. “I’ve seen that, if you look back on his stance, that’s not the first time I’ve seen that.

“Josh Moran, his goalkeeping coach, and the goalkeeping coaches that have worked with him deserve credit for that. That’s something that you see replicated. I saw it earlier on this week."

Then Gavin reflected on the hours after the drawn match with Kerry. Lessons were learned.

“I saw it the day after the replay, him spending two hours on the pitch with Evan Comerford and Michael Shields from Sylvester’s, the goalkeeping coach," Gavin added.

“The three of them working on trying to rectify his positioning for Killian Spillane’s goal in the first game.

“So that’s someone who’s dedicated to their craft, and the result of that is what you see in those clutch moments, to have that composure to make himself big and strong and just do his job. That’s what Stephen does – he does his job.”

With 106 Championship appearances collected Cluxton remains an integral part of the Dublin team.

The Parnells clubman started in eight of Dublin's nine summer matches in 2019, only three goals were leaked, six clean sheets were registered. It only tells some of the story, though, because Cluxton's leadership and commitment continue to set a seriously high standard.

Jack McCaffrey in the parade before the All Ireland SFC Final replay.

Jack McCaffrey in the parade before the All Ireland SFC Final replay.

JACK McCAFFREY

The clock was ticking into the 18th minute. Kerry led 0-5 to 0-4 when Stephen Cluxton was about to launch a trademark kickout.

Cluxton's delivery located Brian Howard, who made a gorgeous fetch over Gavin White. Howard fed Ciaran Kilkenny, who kept the move going with Niall Scully providing support.

All the time Jack McCaffrey's piercing dart continued. Direct and dynamic McCaffrey gathered the O'Neill's leather 20 metres from the Hill 16 end. The finish was crisp, the net rattled, and a goal for the ages had been planted.

It was a flash of beauty, but last week McCaffrey stressed the move wasn't rehearsed. "No, somebody asked me about this somewhere recently and I don’t think Gaelic really lends itself to set plays per se, maybe with the exception off the hop at the start of a game, but other than that it’s just a little too fluid," McCaffrey states.

"It's much more of a mindset, nearly a conceptual thing, that we recognise that the opposition are pushed up aggressively on kick-outs, we've seen that before and we know that there's space in behind then.

"It's not that we go out saying, 'the kick-out is going to this person, it's going to be caught by them and played to him...'

"But it is everyone on the team being kind of tuned into the fact that if we get a clean catch, something is on here and whoever finds themselves around that area, we have to make something happen. So not a set play, but certainly a mindset type thing."

In 15 glorious seconds so many skills of the game were captured perfectly. Cluxton's stylish delivery; Howard's athleticism and hands; Kilkenny and Scully's selflessness. All those combined to enable McCaffrey, still the exciting wing back willing to wander forward to utilise his pace to maximum effect. Sheer and utter class.

Con O'Callaghan was outstanding for Dublin throughout the 2019 campaign.

Con O'Callaghan was outstanding for Dublin throughout the 2019 campaign.

CON O'CALLAGHAN

Con O'Callaghan is trying to make sense of it all. Another successful year, but tricky hurdles were negotiated along the way.

Like all the champion outfits, Dublin found a way to survive. Then the opportunity came to thrive. It is precisely what O'Callaghan did when Dublin's need was greatest in 2019.

O'Callaghan's scoring returns only reflect one aspect of his play, but 4-13 from play in eight games is highly impressive.

The critical two goal salvo at the penultimate stage when Mayo were outfoxed and the four point replay haul against Kerry mattered deeply.

Just to retain the All Ireland title counted so much to the Cuala forward.

“It was amazing," O'Callaghan remarks. “Probably relief as much as anything as well. Particularly after the first day, it was such a tight encounter.

“With the sending off and us scraping to get a draw, but also having a chance to win, the head was a bit all over the place for a couple of days.

“But after that, we put that behind us on the Wednesday after, set our stall out for the final and to actually do it, come out after a bit of adversity was amazing."

Ahead of the drawn All Ireland final, the totemic Mayo footballer Lee Keegan reflected on O'Callaghan's devastating impact during a Dublin burst.

"I had Con and he got the two goals in 12 minutes so my head was spinning quite a bit as well," Keegan commented.

"It was just 12 minutes of complete dominance from Dublin, but also silliness and naivety from us.

"I was on a yellow as well so he did what any great forward would do: he took me on in the one-on-one positions."

That was how O'Callaghan tried to approach every challenge in 2019. The All Ireland Quarter-Final Group Phase encounter when Roscommon were beaten an obvious example.

How O'Callaghan managed to pluck Brian Fenton's inviting pass from the air, subsequently hit the deck, then compose himself before firing over a breathtaking point highlighted the breadth and range of his game.