Paudie Clifford has twice scored headed goals in Gaelic football.
Once for UCC in a Sigerson Cup clash against Athlone IT in 2019, which manager Billy Morgan let slide without comment.
And once in his younger days for his club. That one wasn't allowed to slide. "The manager lost the plot," Clifford says now. "But Billy didn't say anything."
Maybe Morgan appreciated that such flourishes were simply part of the Clifford make-up.
Paudie's brilliance went under the radar for so long - at county level at least - before a breakout 2021 finally launched him into the heart of the Kingdom set-up.
The rise of his younger brother David (above) always felt inevitable given his exploits at minor level, but Paudie, now 25, had to bide his time.
Intense speed and weight training, coupled with Corkman Morgan showing real faith in his capabilities at UCC, helped to change his path.
Consistent excellence at club level with East Kerry also turned a lot of heads, with Tomás Ó Sé lamenting on The Sunday Game after his performance in the Munster SFC final last July: "I think he should [have been in the Kerry team] the last three years. He is a great bit of stuff.
"I do think he has been overlooked by that management the last three years. This year he has kicked on and nearly every game he has been man of the match."
Last year ultimately ended in deep disappointment for Clifford and Kerry as Tyrone railroaded their quest for Sam Maguire at the semi-final stages but the return of Jack O'Connor, in place of Peter Keane, has invigorated the panel.
Kerry are top of Division 1 in the Allianz Football League, and Clifford continues to impress.
"Deep down I always kind of thought I had a chance, but there would have been days where I thought that I'd stop pursuing trying to playing for Kerry," Clifford said at the launch of the Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé, which takes place this weekend.
"Everyone wants to be playing.
"Billy threw me in and gave me a chance at UCC. He was great, gave me a lot of advice but let me do my own thing as well. He was a great mentor and a great manager.
"Jack has his own style. He's a very good man-manager. We're enjoying the training sessions, which is the main thing.
"You've to go again [when a new manager comes in], put the head down in December/January and try to impress him, try to do the right things and play the way he wants you to play."
Paudie and David's talents were nurtured within a football-mad home. Games and practice would last for hours in the back garden where a lawn, a wall and a lone goalpost sharpened their instincts.
They both had to swallow the bitter pill of that loss to Tyrone last summer, with the pain lingering well into the winter months. The brothers often converse about the lie of the footballing land, and expanding on their relationship, Paudie added: "We're good friends, and we hop ideas when it comes to football off each other a lot. I don't take too much notice of [the attention around David].
"Like I said, I'm trying to do my own thing and he's trying to do his.
"[The Tyrone defeat] was tough to take. There's no other way of putting it. We've identified a few things [to improve on] and we're working away on them; small things really, but we have definitely identified a few problems. I'm not going to go into specifics... there's a few.
"All we can do is try to right the wrongs of last year.
"I wouldn't say we're confident - more hopeful. We know how competitive it is. I've never seen Division 1 as competitive. There's going to be no easy games, and there'll be no easy games in the championship either."
"I suppose you are judged on winning All-Irelands [in Kerry], but we're trying to shut that out as much as we can."
This Sunday they travel to Monaghan looking to continue their unbeaten start. Clifford says Kerry learned valuable lessons from playing in dreadful conditions against Dublin and Donegal, but a fired-up Inniskeen crowd will represent a different sort of challenge.
"It was very tough [against Donegal]. You wouldn't mind the rain as much but the wind was crazy. Into the wind it was tough to solo. With the wind, it obviously helps when you're kicking points but when the ball is sent into you it comes at you like a rocket. I suppose those kind of battles make the team stronger.
"We're just looking forward to another challenge. It's going to bring the team on.
"I suppose you are judged on winning All-Irelands [in Kerry], but we're trying to shut that out as much as we can.
"Plenty of people in Kerry bring you back down to earth! But there's plenty of support as well."
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