Colm O’Rourke has described Shane Walsh’s fall from the high of his electrifying 2022 All-Ireland SFC final performance as ‘frustrating to watch’.

The Kilmacud Crokes sharpshooter eclipsed David Clifford in that final – which Galway lost narrowly to Kerry – with a nine-point haul, but has struggled to reach the same heights since.

“Four years ago, he gave one of the great displays in an All-Ireland final. He scored nine points in old money, David Clifford scored eight and it was a toss-up as to who was the best player on the field,” the Meath legend wrote in The Sunday Independent.

“Since then, their careers have diverged. Clifford has inspired Kerry in almost every game. Walsh, on many occasions like last Sunday, becomes peripheral and frustrating to watch.

O’Rourke also questioned Galway’s tactics and defensive ability in the wake of last Sunday week’s devastating All-Ireland SFC quarter-final loss to Dublin.

“How could you not win big games with John Maher and Céin D'Arcy winning an amount of ball around the middle third and a forward line with such individual skill?” he continued.

“There are reasons. The kick-outs are a raffle, the back line is not good enough to win big games and the ball comes in so slowly that opposition defences are locked and loaded.”

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