Which is greater? The shadows dancing across patchy, muddy grass, wrought by the low winter sun, or the looming spectre of the 2018 championship, as the GAA continues to privilege the awarding of silver to an elite few up a single flight of steps?

The Leinster football final aside, the club championships have paused before returning to jostle for attention with the intercounty scene in the New Year. As has been evident today in Mayo's brazen flouting of the new calendar, however, new measures have not left the club scene any less obscured by the intercounty behemoth.

But who, based on their performances over the last few months, is in the best position to bridge that gap? Here are a few names to note ahead of the 2018 football championship.

Paddy Small - Dublin

The deepest reserves of forward talent in Gaelic football are so because they are bottomless. The latest off the production line is Ballymun's Paddy Small. The younger brother of John, Small outshone Dean Rock in Ballymun's run to the Dublin final this year, particularly outstanding in leaving Parnell Park with a haul of 1-6 of Kickham's 1-17 against Brigid's.

His performance in the final was hampered by injury, but do not surprised if Small - a last-minute substitute in this year's All-Ireland Under-21 final - is the latest Dublin forward to turn the Leinster senior championship into a kind of personal play-thing.

Eanna O'Connor - Kildare


Kildare's football team are not averse to calling up club players born in other counties - you may remember a recent call-up of a club hurler a few years ago - and it may be worth their while doing so again to snaffle the talent of Moorefield's Eanna O'Connor. Son of Jack, O'Connor and his brother Cian switched to Moorefield from St Michael's Foilmore in 2014.

He scored 1-5 in shattering Portlaoise in the Leinster quarter-final, and kicked another eight points in disabusing Rathnew of pretensions to fairytale in the semi-final.

O'Connor has flitted around Cian O'Neill's Kildare panel, next year may witness a more permanent role.

Padraig McKeever - Meath

At 26, McKeever has lost royalties on the title of 'promising youngster', but time is not his enemy just yet. Up to now, his Meath career has been stalled by injury: a MCL injury and shattered knee bone have ravaged the same leg.

A county title with Simonstown presaged a star turn against Starlights in Leinster, kicking 0-04 from midfield in a comfortable win. He will be back among the Meath panel for 2018, and is poised for impact.


Shane Murphy - Kerry

In a county as rich and demanding as Kerry, indecision is a weakness. Eamonn Fitzmaurice, however, may have found the solution to one of those problems. Unlike all of his rivals, Fitzmaurice did not have an irrevocable first choice for goalkeeper in 2017, swapping between Brian Kelly and Brendan Kealy before the latter left the panel.

Dr Crokes' Shane Murphy may be poised to solve that issue, however, and nail down a starting berth for himself. His kickouts were particularly excellent in Crokes' run to the Munster final, as teammate Gavin White testified to the Irish Independent:

Shane has everything under his belt. He has short kick-outs, long range, medium range and not only that, he can come up and kick a few (frees) as well. We've massive respect for Shane. There's nothing that fazes him. There are a lot of things (he has) other 'keepers can't do. The way he plays, the way he kicks the ball out, he sets up a lot of things for us and he can send massive kick-outs over the halfway line which sets up an awful lot of scores.

Given Brian Kelly's plight from the tee during the summer - one of which he managed to send over his own goal-line - Murphy could be the man to be put in place next year, so as to be a relatively senior figure by the time Jack O'Connor's precocious minors are ready to lay siege to Dublin.

Neil Douglas - Mayo


It is easier to assign Mayo's run in All-Ireland finals to The Curse nowadays, given that it may be the only way for fans to compute such remarkable misfortune. When a more practical reason behind their anguish is sought, it often comes down to a lack of just one more scoring forward, someone to share the burden with Andy Moran and Cillian O'Connor.

Alan Dillon has vacated a spot on the panel, and perhaps Neil Douglas will finally be the man to fill it. Like McKeever, he has not been too far away from the panel, only to be held back by injury.

Douglas was to the forefront of Castlebar's sojourn to the Connacht final, with Edwin McGreal of the Mayo News doing the totting up:

Despite black card today, @MitchelsGaa's Neil Douglas has now scored 2-35 in club c/ship in the last 28 days, 2-17 from play! #mayogaa — Edwin McGreal (@edmcgreal) November 5, 2016

He was equally impressive in the Connacht final, kicking 0-4 and assisting 1-3 of Castlebar's total of 1-10.

He was involved in the FBD League in 2017 before disappearing from view, could 2018 prove different?