One of the most striking features of Mayo’s march to the All-Ireland title was the freedom Andy Moran gave his players to shoot from distance. Two weeks after Mayo finally brought Sam Maguire home, that confidence was evident throughout the opening round of the county’s club championships. Orange flags were raised with extraordinary regularity across Mayo, with county players, backroom members and club specialists all embracing the two-point shot. The younger brother of Mayo footballer Eoghan McLaughlin finished with ten points, including four two-pointers, as Westport had an emphatic opening win. However, the confidence generated by Mayo’s All-Ireland campaign appears to have accelerated that development.