Peter Canavan thinks Kieran McGeeney might consider deploying Stefan Campbell from the start for Sunday's All-Ireland final.
Both benches this weekend have proven to be considerable weapons en route to the decider, with Armagh squadron of replacements out-scoring Kerry's 0-04 to 0-02 in the closing stages of the semi-final, while in the quarter-final, Galway's subs bench out-scored All-Ireland champions Dublin, an unthinkable notion over the previous decade.
The veteran Campbell, aka 'Soupy', a survivor from McGeeney's very first game in charge in a Division 3 league match nine years ago, has been especially impactful coming on late in games.
Campbell has come off the bench to kick 0-02 in their knockout wins over Kerry and Roscommon, and wound up fisting the late equaliser to grab a draw with Galway and seal top spot in Group A last month.
While the strategy of springing Campbell from the bench at half-time, Canavan wonders whether they might consider starting him for Sunday's showpiece, especially given that Jarly Óg Burns and Ross McQuillan have proven their worth as impact subs.
"He (McGeeney) has a few big decisions to make regarding his starting 15," Canavan said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"We all know about the impact of their bench and it's made a massive impact and got them over the line.
"I just wonder is he seriously thinking about starting Stefan Campbell. Because how can you leave someone of his quality on the sideline?
"He's taking a gamble by hoping Armagh are still going to be in the game in the second half. If Galway get a good start and get a big lead up, he's going to have to bring him on sooner than he expected."
Former Kerry boss Éamonn Fitzmaurice warns, however, that not everyone is suited to the super sub role and suggests McGeeney might not want to tweak a winning formula.
"It's actually a very hard role to play for a player, in terms of impacting (off the bench) the whole time. Some players can do it, some players aren't so good at it. It takes experience, it takes learning, it takes accepting the role.
"Stefan Campbell really has embraced the role this year. Of course, he wants to be starting and he could start, he's good enough to start.
"But I'd be surprised if he does. I think Kieran McGeeney probably feels he's a template that's working.
"If you go back to that great Dublin team, they had the likes of Kevin McManamon. They had different fellas on different days. They even had the luxury of bringing on Diarmuid Connolly, Michael Dara Macauley at times. But Kevin McManamon was a specialist. He was brilliant at it.
"Similarly for us, Darran O'Sullivan was absolutely outstanding in that role. He hated it. He wanted to be starting.
"Having that pace and that understanding of not forcing it is part of the role. The fact that Campbell has got 1-10 in the championship coming off the bench, it's a serious weapon to have."
Fitzmaurice argues that the Galway bench - pegged as a weakness in their loss to Kerry in 2022 - is easily a match for the Armagh reserves, a fact which is a happy by-product of their injury crisis in the spring.
"That was one of the things that was levelled against them that they didn't have the bench going down the stretch.
"This year, in particular, because of the nature and level of their injuries, they were forced to develop a seriously deep squad.
"They've a lot of quality coming in off the bench. The likes of the Johnny Heaneys, Tomo Culhane, John Daly. They mightn't be at the same level in terms of impact. But at the same time, they're very strong, they're very experienced."
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Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship final, Armagh v Galway, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
