Dublin could be susceptible to the high ball into the edge of the square if Mayo decide to play Aidan O’Shea at full-forward.
That’s the view of the Dubs' former All Star full-back Paddy Christie, who fears that the big Breaffy man could do damage in Sunday’s All-Ireland final.
"I’d be fearful of him at 14; that would be a concern for me," said former Dublin captain Christie, speaking to Brian Carthy on RTÉ Radio 1's The Championship.
"I know they did a job on him before, but I think with a certain type of ball he could do a lot of damage. High balls going in have, for me anyway, been a concern.
"While Dublin have always been able to deal with it, a man with strength like that and hands like that at the edge of the square; all it takes is two or three of the right type of ball coming in and if they hit the net it would be difficult for Dublin to recover from."
O’Shea has played everywhere from full-back to full-forward for Mayo this season and he has been picked at centre-forward for the final with Dublin, a rematch of last year’s decider which the Boys in Blue won after a replay.
Mayo manager Stephen Rochford pulled a rabbit out of his hat when he put O’Shea to full-back for the recent All-Ireland semi-final win over Kerry to mark the Kingdom’s danger man Kieran Donaghy.
We are unlikely to see a repeat this weekend and Christie worries about the threat he could pose to Dublin inside backs Philly McMahon, Jonny Cooper and Mick Fitzsimons.
"Physicality is no issue," he explained. "With the likes of Philly McMahon there, he’s a Ballymun man and one of my own men, so that’s not going to be an issue.
"It’s a height thing and from my own background of playing there for years, I would be worried if I was playing full-back on Sunday and I saw him coming in. I’m not saying he is unstoppable, but if he does turn it on around that area it’s going to be very hard.
"Dublin haven’t come up against something like that before and against Kildare a couple of times the high ball went in and it looked very, very dangerous."
