Banner raising game, says Ryan

A mark of this Clare team, and one that shouldn’t be overlooked, even if they are All-Ireland champions, is just how young most of them are and how much more growth there is left in them physically, emotionally and mentally.

They are not the battle-hardened Kilkenny Panzer division of the 2000s who could go out in game after game, against any and every opponent, and pulverise them into submission.

What they can do is target specific games, or — more accurately — target specific teams, lift themselves for that game, and deliver a performance. So it was in the league opener against Kilkenny, a hard-earned but well-deserved win, so it was again on Sunday last in Thurles against Tipperary, another win, another marker laid down. Between those games though, Clare lost to Dublin, well beaten.