Shane Ryan pinpoints biggest difference between playing in goal vs outfield as Kerry ace prepares to walk tightrope
The Rathmore man, 29, has been a mainstay between the sticks since his SFC debut in 2019.
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Ryan will be no stranger to Croke Park come Sunday
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The 29-year-old spilt the ball which led to Armagh's first goal in last year's semi-final
Dublin stung the Kingdom in
They avenged that defeat in the last four in 2022 but
Jack O'Connor's men looked set to reclaim the throne last summer, but
The Orchard pounced when Ryan failed to deal with Rían O'Neill's high ball in the 55th minute, which led to Barry McCambridge's goal.
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Conor Turbitt's insurance score clinched a 1-18 to 1-16 extra-time win for Armagh, who went on to beat Galway and claim Sam Maguire.
Ryan got back on the horse with his club — where he plays as outfield — and a super inter-county campaign has propelled Kerry into Sunday's showpiece against Donegal.
The No 1 said: 'The nature of the position, you're going to make mistakes and the longer I've played at the top level, I've kind of tried to accept they're just going to happen.
'Obviously, you don't want them to happen, particularly in an All-Ireland stage.
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'But they're going to and I suppose it's always a measure of a fella, how he reacts from mistakes rather than the mistakes themselves.
'That's kind of how I try to perceive them because if you go out there fearing a mistake, you're never going to express yourself, you're never going to perform to your maximum — and that goes for all positions.
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'But when you're playing in goal, you drop a high ball, 90 per cent of the time it's in the back of the net or it's over the bar. If I'm playing full-forward for my club and I drop a ball, no one gives it a second thought.
'So it's trying to compartmentalise those individual errors and react positively to them.'
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And Ryan believes keeping a cool head comes with age. Sunday will be his fifth senior final, after the 2019 drawn game and replay, and deciders in 2022 and 2023.
The three-time league winner only has one Celtic Cross, but Kerry know the score when it comes to the build-up and distractions that come with the Sam Maguire final.
Ryan said: 'I'm kind of lucky in a way. It's my fifth final, so you do pick up small bits and pieces throughout the years.
'I think the older you get anyway in a sporting context, maybe in life, you just try to enjoy things that little bit more and you know, not wish the two weeks away because we spend how many weeks in the year training to get to this stage?
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'So it's just important to try and enjoy it and enjoy each other's company.
'We have a huge task ahead. It's a huge game but we're trying to enjoy the build-up as much as we possibly can.'
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