The cream is beginning to rise to the top as this year's Sam Maguire Cup race enters the final furlong.

1. Paddy O'Rourke (Meath)

It was an evening to forget for the Royals against Armagh but their 'keeper can hold his head high after keeping a clean sheet and pointing two-long range frees.

2. Donal Keogan (Meath)

The resilient defender fulfilled his end of the bargain in restricting Jamie Clarke to a solitary point but it wasn't enough to prevent Mick O'Dowd's charges from exiting the championship.

3. Fionn Fitzgerald (Kerry)

The Kingdom's full-back completely nullified the threat of Galway captain Paul Conroy.

4. Ollie Lyons (Kildare)

The whole-hearted Lilywhite defender conceded the late free which helped Monaghan force extra-time but that shouldn't overlook the fact that he held Farney sharp-shooter Conor McManus scoreless from play.

5. Aaron Kernan (Armagh)

The experienced Kernan justified his late call-up to the Orchard starting 15 in place of injured skipper Ciaran McKeever when posting two second-half points which helped stem the Meath tide.

6. Dessie Mone (Monaghan)

No one epitomises the spirit in the Monaghan camp more than the ever-willing Clontibret defender.

7. Gareth Bradshaw (Galway)

Bradshaw roamed forward to raise two white flags for Alan Mulholland's men but his efforts proved to be in vain.

8. Seamus O'Shea (Mayo)

Worked his socks off in the Mayo engine room and his industry was rewarded with two well-taken points.

9. Aidan O'Shea (Mayo)

The big midfielder's fingerprints were all over Mayo's best moments in the second-half and he showed he has the skill to complement his physical power with a superbly executed second-half goal.

10. Donnacha O'Connor (Cork)

O'Connor's arrival on the pitch in the 50th minute sowed the seeds of his team's revival and his return of 1-3 left Rebel supporters wondering what might have happened had he been on from the start.

11. Chris McGuinness (Monaghan)

McGuinness' superbly executed extra-time goal hammered the nail into Kildare's championship coffin.

12. Stefan Campbell (Armagh)

The hard-working Campbell got through an enormous amount of work in Croke Park on Saturday evening and sent over three valuable points for Paul Grimley's side.

13. Paul Geaney (Kerry)

Geaney and full-forward colleague James O'Donoghue took full advantage of Galway's slack defending.

14. James O'Donoghue (Kerry)

A personal tally of 1-5, to go with his 0-10 in the Munster SFC final, looks to have secured the Kerry scoring machine his second All-Star.

15. Alan Dillon (Mayo)

Questions were being asked following a low-key outing in the Connacht final but the two-time All-Star answered his critics with four points from play. Tweet

Most Read Stories