Griffin gunning for fifth All-Ireland

With four All-Ireland medals in his back pocket, you would think Tommy Griffin would be content with his lot.

Yet the Kerry midfielder-cum-defender says he has found a new enthusiasm for Gaelic football this year and will be delighted to have a starting berth for Sunday's SFC Final against Tyrone.

With the number 8 jersey on his back for the semi-final replay against Cork last time out, the Dingle publican found himself straddling the expanses of the full-back line rather than the middle third, when manager Pat O'Shea assigned him a man-marking job on Cork giant Michael Cussen.

While Griffin concedes he loves to play an attacking style of football, he is just happy to be holding down a starting berth in a team where first 15 places are at a premium.

"Breaking forward is probably more my game than marking tight but I'm glad enough to get a jersey," the 30-year-old said.

And Griffin feels that the job for defenders has got even tougher in the modern climate.

"When you're inside, there's only so much you can do. There was an awful lot of ball coming in there. But it's something we've had to look at over the last few weeks.

"There's no way we'll get away with that against Tyrone, letting a lead like that (against Cork) slip.

"It's the third time that's happened to us this year. Whether we'd get to that position is another story."

The adaptability of midfielders in other counties is not something which is lost on Griffin, and the 6ft 2in player is aware that Tyrone have also used this tactic well.

Should he again play a defensive role this Sunday, Griffin is likely to be faced by the towering presence of Sean Cavanagh.

"He's more a midfielder as well," Griffin mused.

"I'm sure he'd probably prefer to be out the field as well. When you're around the middle of the field you're not really as concerned about marking your man and keeping him scoreless.

"In the full-back line there's a lot of pressure there and you see things in the full-back line that you don't see in the middle of the field.

"It would be no harm for anyone in midfield to spend a while back there and see the spaces in front of you."

Much has been made of Kerry's inability to cope with Tyrone's physical presence during their previous meetings, but Griffin insists that the Kingdom are well prepared this time around - having faced one of the most physical teams in the country already this year.

"We've had good three tests this year against Cork in the physicality stakes," he insisted.

"Cork are probably the most physical team in the country at the moment and they showed it on three occasions this year against us.

"In 2003 they (Tyrone) seemed to have an edge over us and we competed a bit better in 2005 so eventually we'll see on Sunday how we will shape up."