Crossword Genius

Sound final whistle in play (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

endgame

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'play' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'sound final whistle' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'final' could be 'end' (synonyms) and 'end' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'game' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for endgame that I've seen before include "contest's final stage" , "moves before mating" , "Final stage in a contest" , "drama" , "closing stage" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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