Trevor Giles (Meath)

Scores to date: 02 (v Wicklow), 0-3 (v Offaly), 0-5 (v Dublin), 0-5 (v Armagh). Total: 0-15

Nearly always worth four or five points in a game and I would almost see him as the most vital member of this Meath team. It's so important that he plays well if Meath want to win. If he's not having an influence on the game, then the rest of the team will suffer, even the likes of Ollie Murphy because they depend so much on his distribution.

For a long time now he has proven himself to be one of the leaders on this team as a player of great vision and intelligence. He is responsible for setting up so much of the play and distributing the ball among the rest of the forwards. Also a very difficult player to mark because he drifts back into midfield and roams around with great game-reading ability.

One of his greatest assets must also be his excellent attitude on the field. Even when the game is not running for him he doesn't panic and keeps on top of things. He is not fazed by anything that goes on around him and I think that permeates to the rest of the forwards.

Even in the semi-final against Armagh he was not ruffled by the muddle around the middle of the field and he found a few telling passes that made the difference in their victory.

Equally impressive as an individual and team player, he may lack some catching ability in a crowded area, but he feeds off John McDermott in those situations. Has been a little inconsistent in his free-taking as he missed a couple early in the Leinster final, but it's very hard to see an obvious weakness in his game.

Podsie O'Mahony (Cork)

Scores to date: 19 (v Limerick), 0-4 (v Kerry), 0-3 (v Mayo). Total: 1-16.

This has been his most consistent season for Cork by far and he showed that right through the league. Especially as the league was coming to a climax he seemed to be getting stronger all the time.

A right-footed player, he is also responsible for the frees from the left side. It's not surprising that he has been Cork's top scorer in the championship so far, even though 1-9 came against Limerick in the one-sided semi-final.

Since then his form has tapered off somewhat, but he still picked up four frees in the Munster final. Will have an important role as a free-taker in this game, but he is equally strong in picking off points from play. He's definitely a ball-winner and not afraid to take on his man.

It was surprising that he was substituted in the semi-final against Mayo, but I still expect he will be a key player tomorrow with a similar attacking role to Joe Kavanagh. He will be directly opposed by Paddy Reynolds, who attacks quite a lot but wouldn't be as physically strong, and that probably gives O'Mahony a slight advantage in his search for scores.

Tomorrow will be a big test for him and it is important that he gets into the game from the start. Up until this past season he hasn't been the most consistent and tended to drift out of games, but that was more to do with lack of concentration rather than lack of fitness. That shouldn't be a problem tomorrow, and he will also have the advantage in that Kavanagh or Philip Clifford are there to take up the slack if he falls short.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan.