From being an option held in reserve during Dublin's all-conquering run, Cormac Costello has assumed the mantle as the team’s most important forward this season, according to Lee Keegan.
The Whitehall Colmcille man made his senior bow a decade ago as Jim Gavin began to assemble perhaps the greatest football side seen at inter-county level.
Celebrating his 29th birthday on Tuesday, Costello has seven Celtic Crosses to his name, but with a whole host of decorated attackers competing for places up front, he has often had to make do as an impact sub. Other times he’s been used even more sparingly.
Including replays, the clash with Kerry at the end of the month will be his 10th senior final, but likely to be the first he will start.
In 2013, 2015 and 2016 (draw) he didn’t appear at all. He turned the 2016 replay in Dublin’s favour against Mayo with three crucial points off the bench, yet the following year he came on in the fourth minute of injury time as Mayo were edged out yet again.
Last time out in 2020 he appeared in the final minute as the Dubs clinched the six in a row, but fast forward three years and he has arguably been Dessie Farrell’s most consistent player this year.
Player of the match in the semi-final win over Monaghan, he was in sublime form in the quarter-final victory over Mayo also, notching a dozen points across both games while outscoring the likes of Con O'Callaghan, continuing on his impressive early season form despite the team, at times, struggling to hit the heights of previous years.
With Dean Rock’s days as a starter seemingly over, Costello’s reliance from placed balls has also been evident, and speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Mayo defender Keegan says that the Dublin forward is not getting the credit he deserves with some star-studded names for company up front.
"We all talk about Con O’Callaghan, James McCarthy and these guys, but I think Cormac Costello has found a new lease of life," he said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"If you’re looking for a guy to lead the line…some of his point taking in those (difficult) conditions on Saturday was just phenomenal.
"Even against Mayo, it was really only himself and Colm Basquel in that first half that hung on to Mayo and kept them in the game, and as a result, they drove on.
"I think his form has been really underestimated in the last few weeks, he’s been absolutely brilliant. It’s given the likes of Con O’Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Paul Mannion that bit of time and a way to reflect on themselves, and he is picking up a lot of slack for those guys at the moment.
"It’s going to be very interesting how he goes into the All-Ireland final in that form."
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