At the peak of his powers, Paul Flynn has always been the perfect half forward model for anyone to learn from.
If the old, classic alien from Mars landed on earth tomorrow and asked – because they’d always ask – what is a half forward in Gaelic Football, you’d pull out your flip board and it would have a picture of one man.
The four-time All-Star really lit the way for 21st century footballers and he showed exactly what should be expected of a number 10. Almost like David De Gea has ruined goalkeeping for everyone else – you can’t watch any other ‘keeper in the world concede now without thinking that De Gea would’ve saved it. Well, Flynn set the bar so high in Ireland that even he failed to reach those same standards eventually.
For the last nine years or so since he burst onto the scene with Dublin, the Fingallians club man has been breaking lines like there’s no tomorrow, he’s been curling efforts over for fun, winning kickouts more than some midfielders could even dream of and his defensive work has been second to none.
He has been the complete player during Dublin’s rise and he ended up being judged on that when he wasn’t as deadly last season in particular.
In his last two outings though, Flynn has shown scary signs that, at 30, he’s far from done. Like, he’s nowhere near done.
Against Roscommon on Saturday night, he let them have it and then some. Flynn was picked from the start for the first time this season during Dublin’s record-breaking league win that took them to 35 games undefeated and he unloaded on the Rossies with 1-6 from play.
The goal was textbook.
Long, direct ball into the full forward and his positioning, timing and explosiveness is just perfection.
He waits and then he drives off the shoulder and powers home.
One of his points displayed everything a half forward needs.
Ability to win the ball just outside the 45′ with his back to goal.
He brings other men into the play and then hits the space for all his worth.
It is very, very, very hard to mark off the ball runners.
Flynn ends up with a tight angle but not too tight for a man with his accuracy.
He can take the easy points too.
But he does it again with timing, with a looping run and then the command to demand the ball off his half back as he swings over first time and makes it all look a hell of a lot more easy than what it really is.
Down in Kerry when the Dubs were on the ropes like they haven’t been for far too long, it was Paul Flynn who changed the game.
Jim Gavin sprang him from the bench in the 42nd minute with the Kingdom three points to the good and the champions rattled. Flynn got their foothold back in the middle. He got them driving at the hosts again. He got them realising that they are bloody Dublin and he did it just by channeling all the energy and power that has made him so frightening this decade.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, with Kerry four up and Dublin looking laboured and rocked, Flynn goes up and wins a mark from Cluxton against the elements but he sets the tone then by refusing to stop the play and instead carries the ball straight into the lion’s den.
He carries the ball right into the Kerry 65′, links with Ciaran Kilkenny twice and Conor McHugh wins a free that starts a rout of eight points for Dublin before the game is out. And they needed every one of them.
Gavin deployed Flynn at midfield in Tralee but he did what he always does – he won ball with his back to goal and he started looking to spray it in to get that forward line moving again. Five points in 48 minutes isn’t good enough for Dublin and Flynn made sure they wouldn’t accept that nonsense.
He won the free that took them to within the minimum of Kerry.
During that game, it was almost like the penny – or money bag – dropped with Flynn that he realised again he is a leader of this team and he is so damn important to setting the tempo and getting the sky blue jerseys firing.
He’s playing with his chest out again and he’s playing with swagger. He’s doing what he always has done with that too, playing with pure heart and honesty. Now, everything is ticking for him again though and he is looking absolutely menacing.
As if Dublin needed another helping hand – never mind the addition of one of the best half forwards in the country into their team.
Paul Flynn is back. The rest of us will just have to accept it and whinge about it.
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