In one sense, it's far too soon to be talking about who might win the Footballer of the Year award, but in another sense, the season will be over in just seven weeks.
The split season means that the devil works fast, but the All-Ireland series works faster, and as we head into the last round of the group stages, we take a look at the five frontrunners to win the biggest individual accolade in Gaelic football this year.
These nominees are selected on current form, history, and the likelihood of them making the latter stages of the championship this summer. We know the Footballer of the Year will inevitably come from one of the two All-Ireland finalists, but here are six of the most deserving players of consideration as we head towards the business end of the Championship.
6. Peadar Mogan
Although their defeat to Cork was a surprise stumbling block, there's no denying that the rise of Donegal is one of the stories of the season.
A lot of praise has rightly been accredited to Jim McGuinness but on the field Peadar Mogan has been unbelievable, and his Man of the Match performance against Tyrone might not be the last personal award he finishes the season with.
5. Sam Mulroy
Last year Mickey Harte compared Mulroy to Lionel Messi, and although that's as drastic a comparison as you can make, to the people of Louth he is at least the next best thing.
Only Ryan O'Donoghue has scored more than the flying forward in the championship so far this season, with 3-30 already tallied up, and Louth looking like they will progress to the knockout stages of the All-Ireland.
If the Wee County do take a run deep into the road for Sam, there's no doubt that this man will have had a big say in why.
4. Tom O'Sullivan
A corner back winning Player of the Year? Well, the last one to do that was Marc Ó Sé and he was of course a fellow Kerryman, so O'Sullivan has it in his DNA.
The demonic defender is has struck the perfect balance between getting back and getting forward, often outscoring the man he is marking, and racking up two or three points a game, and that's on a quiet day.
If he keeps this up, then he will be hard to ignore when the big awards are being handed out.
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3. David Clifford
Okay, so Clifford isn't having his best season in front of goal just yet, but he has won this award the last two years running and for good reason.
It's very likely that Kerry will make at least the last four in the championship, which means that the sharpshooter has plenty of time to get his eye in, and the wide spaces of Croke Park are just calling out to him.
2. Ryan O'Donoghue
The Player of the Year award doesn't usually take the league into consideration, but looking back at O'Donoghue since that first game in 2024, he has been incredible.
In a Mayo forward line where Kevin McStay has been chopping and changing the likes of Aidan O'Shea, Tommy Conroy, and Cillian O'Connor, the one thing he hasn't tampered with is O'Donoghue, and that's because he has not put a foot wrong all season.
Currently the overall top scorer in the championship with 2-37 to his name, the dynamic goal-getter is in a great position to stake a claim for Player of the Year if the award was chosen purely on merit. If Mayo can stay in the competition long enough, then he might just do that.
1. Con O'Callaghan
It's hard to believe that only 12 months ago, people were wondering if O'Callaghan was past his best, for although he was still hugely influential in games, he just didn't look his same devastating self.
The Dublin demolition man now leads the way with scores from play this season, hitting an impressive 4-10 so far, and with the form he and his team are in, they look like they are going to be hard to stop when it comes to picking up honours at the end of the year.
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