Forward Figures

Interviews: Interviews with Stephen McDonnell (Armagh) and Brian Dooher (Tyrone)

Stephen McDonnell (Armagh)

Age: 24.

Club: Killeavy.

Position: Right corner forward.

Honours: All-Ireland SFC 2002, Ulster SFC 2002, 2001, 1999, All-Star 2002.

Nobody has impressed more on Armagh's meandering qualifying journey than Steven McDonnell. A deserved All-Star last season after a smart and economical championship, his forward play has been unparalleled this year.

He followed a quality half-hour against Dublin in Croke Park with a rampant goal-burst against Limerick a week later. Quiet against Laois, he was carefully marshalled in the semi-final against Donegal also but still had the poise to nail the goal that swung the semi-final.

He has both the speed and height to trouble any kind of defender and has evolved into Armagh's most consistent scoring threat. His emergence four seasons ago lifted the scoring burden from players like Oisín McConville and Diarmuid Marsden and ultimately shifted the balance among the Armagh forwards. Generally ultra-reliable with frees, he is comfortable operating on the wing or deep in the opponents' square. Joe Kernan's ploy of isolating the slim and elusive McDonnell with the dynamic Marsden has troubled all defences. He is a strong contender for Footballer of the Year going into Sunday's final.

In his own words: "I would say that our second half against Dublin was probably the best we have played in two years. Obviously when you are All-Ireland champions, you play with a certain confidence in your team-mates and yourself. I've probably got a bit more attention from defenders this year but I don't mind that, it usually means there is a team-mate free. Like, any one of our forward line is capable of scoring four or five points.

"It doesn't matter who you come up against in an All-Ireland final, you are going to be marked tightly. Tyrone are the league and Ulster champions and some people would say they are the best in the country. We will have our work cut out. Obviously us playing them, it's history in the making. But I don't think it matters all that much, it is still an All-Ireland final. It comes down to who copes with the nerves best and who uses the wide open space of Croke Park. Our aim is to become a great team, to be seen as that throughout Ireland so it doesn't matter who we play."

Opposing View: (Dave Billings, Dublin selector): "His scoring record speaks for itself. He has had only one bad miss this year and that was against Monaghan on the first day of the championship. If he had scored it could have changed history.

"But for two years now in particular he has been causing defences nightmares; he was initially quite under-rated. Niall McCready kept him quiet in the last match against Donegal but he struck like a cobra when it mattered with a great goal. It was the defining moment of the game.

"His strength lies in his ability to win the really dirty hard balls, unlike the corner-forwards of old. Against Limerick he was fantastic and he got a great run going against us in the second half of the match. He has stood out as the best forward in the championship."

Performance: Although voted man of the match against Donegal in last month's All-Ireland semi-final, it was McDonnell's virtuoso display against Dublin in the thunderous July qualifying game that set up Armagh's summer.

During a memorable comeback by the All-Ireland champions, McDonnell shone, kicking a series of points with apparent ease.

Brian Dooher (Tyrone)

Age: 28

Club: Clann na nGael

Position: Wing forward

Honours: Ulster SFC 1996, 2001, 2003, NFL 2002, 2003

Dooher is one of only three players on the Tyrone team to have been caught between generations - too young for the under-21 successes of the early 1990s and too old for the more recent exploits at under-age.

He, fellow winger Ger Cavlan and corner back Ryan McMenamin are the only players without an under-21 or minor All-Ireland medal. Dooher's game has changed since his arrival on the county scene in 1996 as a more conventional forward.

Now he is the quintessential modern half forward, tracking tirelessly up and down the pitch, offering himself as an option for defenders, carrying the ball forward and making runs. His constant movement and ability to read the game means that he processes a lot of possession. He is the team's joint fourth highest scorer with seven points from play this season.

In his own words: "The top scorer in Ireland is Peter Canavan and we have put up high scores so I wouldn't say that we're a defensive or negative team; we're a very attacking team. I have a role to play and some people mightn't think too much of it but as long as Mickey Harte's happy with it, I'm happy with it.

"My role is no different from anybody else's. When you have the ball you attack, whenever you haven't got it you defend. Everyone attacks together and everyone defends together. Nowadays if you haven't got 15 defenders whenever you haven't got the ball, you're beat.

"The majority of scores, if you check them back, come because of something stupid like a forward who hasn't tackled. So we try and cut those mistakes out. Armagh did it last year and won the All-Ireland.

"Those young boys have won All-Irelands and know what it is to win and hopefully they can keep on winning. They have a confidence, a belief in their own ability but their feet are on the ground."

Opposing view: (Dom Corrigan, Fermanagh manager): "Up until now Brian would be a contender for the player of the championship. He fits into the Tyrone system very well with his ability to cover back. Essentially he is a link between defence and attack.

"We played against him twice, in the league semi-final and the championship, and his work-rate was awesome. Criticism about him in the past appears to have fuelled his appetite for the game.

"In general his ability to win great ball makes him an asset, it sticks to him like a magnet. Also as an older member of the team his work ethic spreads throughout his team-mates."

Performance: v Fermanagh (All-Ireland quarter-final). This was Tyrone's easiest match of the campaign, as Fermanagh burned up on entry to Croke Park's atmosphere. But Tyrone set about the inevitable task with a grim determination and by the 15th minute the match was over.

In those opening exchanges before the result became a foregone conclusion Dooher was unstoppable.

Positioned deep as usual he won an abundance of possession, broke from the congested midfield and unerringly picked out Owen Mulligan and Peter Canavan. Even when the contest petered out, he kept going.