PICTURE THE CONVERSATION THAT took place between two hard-bitten hacks in the Clones press box prior to Cavan and Monaghan, as Rory Beggan is warming up and ready to start for Monaghan.

One was pondering just how gullible those in the trade are, for – not only swallowing whole the line Vinny Corey spun at the Ulster championship launch about Beggan being officially gone for the season – but faithfully printing it with lurid headlines.

“Is it any wonder,” the wiser of the two noted, “That these people see us as complete imbeciles?”

Harsh. But true.

Now picture the conversation as the game heads towards that crazy finish with the lead been passed back and forth like snuff at a wake.

Within the BBC NI studio there is a frantic debate over who is the man-of-the-match. In the end up, Philly McMahon made a strong push for Rory Beggan. He got his way.

A goalkeeper winning man-of-the-match after he picked the ball out of the net three times? Some were holding that ugly statistic up to the light, and comparing it to Paddy Lynch’s haul of 1-9 and asking what more does one have to do?

Naming Beggan as man-of-the-match makes a compelling reason for Beggan to speak to the broadcaster. And that got them a free hit at interviewing the most talked-about Gaelic footballer in the country given his prospects of being signed with an American Football team.

Rory Beggan at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee/INPHO USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee/INPHO / Kirby Lee/INPHO

He told the BBC; “It didn’t distract me, it didn’t distract the team. We all knew I was back training last weekend and we had it parked after that.

“Everybody else can use it as a distraction, everybody else can use it as something to talk about. For us in the camp there’s full focus on this game.”

Any white smoke on contract offers?

“Look, you just have to play it by ear. The phone is always open and you don’t know what might happen in the next couple of weeks… I honestly couldn’t tell you what is going on.”

Downbeat and dejected, Beggan turned down all other advances for interviews and his contribution to the BBC was an exercise in throwing a wet blanket over everything.

Beggan will have a bright red circle around the last weekend in April however. The NFL Draft takes place in Detroit. All franchises will be putting the final touches to their rosters. And they all require one ‘foreign’ player to comply with the rules in place.

Some have wondered if Beggan’s age – 31 – might count against him.

Far from it. Kickers in the Pigskin game are only getting going at that age. From the 2022 season, more than half of the first-choice kickers in the NFL were either 31 or older.

The oldest was Robbie Gould of the San Francisco 49ers. He blew out 40 candles on his birthday cake that year.

Whatever happens with Beggan, he will go down as one of the greatest footballers in a golden period for goalkeepers. An examination of his contribution on Sunday bears out how he exerts an overbearing influence in the games he plays.

In the first half, Cavan opted to drop off for Beggan’s kickout. He had a big wind at his back and kicking over the cover would have been a cinch. In the second half, despite increased Cavan pressure, only two of his restarts were turned into Cavan possessions.

He made fifteen plays in the opening half as an outfield player.

For their first point, a Conor McManus free, he initiated the move with his kickpass inside to Gary Mohan who rapidly transferred to Ryan O’Toole, who was fouled.

In the ninth minute he played a kickpass to Conor McCarthy. His shot came off the upright and Kevin Loughran and Jack McCarron both had chances to net the rebound. It went for a ‘45’ that Beggan lofted over.

Paddy Lynch kicks a point for Cavan. John McVitty / INPHO John McVitty / INPHO / INPHO

In the very next play, Cian Madden made a brilliant kickpass and Paddy Lynch had drifted across the front of the cover. It was a sensational backdoor cut and Lynch did everything right, only for Beggan to get down low and make a brilliant save.

His on-field chemistry with Karl O’Connell is interesting.

On 15 minutes, his kickpass put O’Connell into space to kick a point. Four minutes later he came up to convert a free with O’Connell fouled by Gerry Smith. He also put the Tyholland man into space on 25 minutes for a shot that dropped short.

On 28 minutes he had advanced far up the field when his opposite number Gary O’Rourke was taking a kickout. Kevin Loughran palmed the ball down to Beggan to kickpass to Jack McCarron for his only point from play.

Dropping a free and later a ’45’ short was uncharacteristic of him, but when the game was tight, he was immense. In the 57th minute he kicked to Sean Jones who took a mark and converted it.

He did the exact same on 69 minutes, turning provider for Joel Wilson this time. Three minutes later he found Wilson in almost the same position.

Instead of risking the shot, Wilson caught the Cavan defence unawares by returning the mark to Beggan who kicked over from open play.

The two late goals? He could do little for the second goal. As Vinny Corey said about the third goal, it was all academic at that stage anyway. Beggan was worthy of a man-of-the-match pick.

For a man who has been focussed on a different shaped ball all winter and spring, it was a phenomenal performance.

If he does end up idling by the Gatorade tank waiting to come on and make his kicks in America, he’ll be missed. But he’ll also have left his print on a game as one of the most influential players ever.