MEDALS NOT D-RYAN UP FOR NO.1

SHANE RYAN was among the first Dublin players to reap the benefits of

Stephen Cluxton’s “radar foot”.

Ryan (right) had switched codes to the capital’s hurlers the year before the breakthrough

2011 All-ireland winning campaign by the footballers.

But he played a vital role for Dublin in the Noughties, when Cluxton was honing a craft that would eventually see him elevated to the ranks of a modern great, credited with providing the platform for his county’s dominance of the football Championship.

Now 36, the Parnells man still has a profound influence on a Dublin team that will take a second step tomorrow towards what they hope will be an eighth successive Leinster title and fourth All-ireland triumph in a row.

“To win All-irelands and especially to win as much as Dublin won in the last number of years, you need every part functioning really well,” said Ryan.

“He sets the pace and he sets a tone.

“Teams could be after making an attack and five seconds later the ball is being kicked out. “Not only is it being kicked out, but it’s kicked out directly to one of the Dublin players who is now going at 100 miles an hour down the pitch.

“So teams don’t get a breather, basically.

“The comfort that you get as a player knowing that once the ball is kicked, whether it’s a point or wide, you’ll have possession again in five or 10 seconds. It’s massively important.

“He’s got a radar foot and can pick out wherever he wants.”

Ryan started as a corner-back with Dublin before being moved into midfield, where he was a small man among giants.

But with Cluxton’s superb accuracy with his kick-outs, it proved a massive advantage for the likes of the Naomh Mearnog man.

“There was no hope in hell of me competing for a kick-out with 6’4” lads,” he said.

“He played his first game since he was 19 and he has almost been a regular since.

“He’s setting new standards all the time so he’s bringing fellas with him who see how he plays.”

VERDICT: Dublin