David Clifford is going places – hopefully those places don’t involve Australia.
One of the fiercest talents in the country still has another year left at minor level but he’s already almost a household name.
The Kerry man has a gift. What he can do with a football is simply jaw-dropping at times and his impressive physique is only an added bonus atop of all his beauty with the size five.
Back when he first rose to acclaim outside of the Kingdom, we thought his performance at Croke Park would be pretty hard to repeat.
David Clifford is having a once-in-a-lifetime game. 2-5 for the Kerry man as St. Brendan's win the Hogan Cup 💪👊 pic.twitter.com/6UfFuHZyJA
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 2, 2016
It turns out, he could just be a once-in-a-lifetime player if he sticks at it.
But what Clifford is doing right now is the sort of stuff that won’t really be appreciated in the AFL. Yes, he’s big, strong, athletic. He’s got amazing hands, he’s evasive as hell and he’s got a serious head on his broad shoulders.
That stuff doesn’t sell dummies in Aussie Rules though. There’s no such thing when lads are allowed to wrap their hands around you and drag you down. There are no top corners to hit either. These are things that mark out a man like Clifford – the sort of things that only he and a select few others can do.
The sort of things he did again on Sunday.
East Kerry beat Mid Kerry in the county championship on Lewis Road and, although it was Dara Roche and Jeff O’Donoghue to the fore, it was Clifford’s goal that was the pick of the bunch.
SCORERS#Kerry_Official #GarveysSFC@EastKerryGAA: 4-15(27)@midkerrygaa: 1-11(14) pic.twitter.com/ld2GVun3aL
— East Kerry GAA (@EastKerryGAA) May 21, 2017
Just before half time, the teenager collected a broken ball and with one vicious dummy, sharp turn and another deadly swing of his left foot, a defender was on his arse and the postage stamp was rippling.
It’s what he does. And he could literally do it on a sixpence.
Catch, turn, dummy finish. The camera struggled to keep up.
Watch again.
Composure and skill at its best.
It was all captured brilliantly by Kerry GAA on their live stream of Sunday’s game. Clifford’s goal comes at 18:03.
