By Shaun Casey

Conor Turbitt (Armagh) 3-13

CONOR Turbitt didn’t start the preliminary round game against Tyrone, but is currently the leading scorer in the Ulster Championship. He raised green flags in his last two outings against Fermanagh and Down (2) and has led the line for Kieran McGeeney’s men, who have reached a fourth consecutive Ulster final. Turbitt came off the bench to land 0-2, including the winner, against the Red Hands, and racked up 1-6 and 2-5 respectively in their one-sided wins over Fermanagh and Down.

Shane McGuigan (Derry) 0-16

THE Sleacht Néill sharpshooter top scored for Ciarán Meenagh’s men in both their Ulster Championship encounters against Antrim and Monaghan. He was responsible for 0-9 the first day out against the Saffrons, including a brace of two-pointers, and backed it up with a return of 0-7 in the semi-final versus Monaghan. He only slotted over one free against the Farney men and kicked 0-6 of his final tally from open play.

Darragh McGurn (Fermanagh) 1-12

FERMANAGH only played one game but Darragh McGurn was simply outstanding against Armagh. At half time, the Orchard County led 1-17 to 0-4, with McGurn having 0-1 to his name, but he shot the lights out after the turnaround. He kicked four two-pointers himself at Brewster Park and bagged what has arguably been the goal of the championship, to finish with 1-12 on the day, 1-11 of that tally coming in the second 35 minutes of action. He was pretty much a one man band for Declan Bonner’s men that day and will want to carry that form into the Tailteann Cup.

Oisin O’Neill (Armagh) 0-14

O’NEILL has adopted the super sub tag left available but the recently retired Stefan Campbell and he has filled the void perfectly, offering the Orchard County a real punch off the bench. He was the game-winner for the Orchard County after coming off the bench against Tyrone to kick 0-6 and he also set up Tomás McCormack’s goal at the start of extra time. Against both Fermanagh and Down, the Crossmaglen clubman has evenly split 0-8 across those two contests and raised an orange flag versus the Mourne men.

Lachlan Murray (Derry) 1-9

MURRAY was one of two Derry goal scorers in their quarter-final win over Antrim as they saw out a comfortable 13-point victory. Murray was on target that day and left Celtic Park with 1-3 to his name, rattling the net inside the opening 35 minutes of the game, and he looked really sharp at times against Monaghan and accounted for 0-6 of their final tally. Murray has been a big go-to player for Meenagh’s men and finished the Ulster campaign as their second top scorer, after Shane McGuigan.

Rory Beggan (Monaghan) 0-11

THE Monaghan hero after their unbelievable comeback win over Derry last weekend, Beggan continues to be one of the main men in the white and blue jersey. Gabriel Bannigan described the Scotstown shot stopper as one of the best players of all time after last Saturday’s semi-final, and I don’t think too many would argue with the Monaghan managers assessment. He kicked 0-6 in their win over rivals Cavan and nabbed 0-5 at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds against Derry.

Mícheál Bannigan (Monaghan) 1-8

THE Monaghan skipper is his side joint top scorer for the championship alongside Rory Beggan and the pair combined for Monaghan’s goal last Saturday evening. That was the score that sparked the Farney Army into life and saw them come back from the dead to defeat Derry by the minimum of margins and book their place in this year’s Ulster final. Bannigan was on target in round when they took down Cavan, kicking 0-3 and followed that up with an impressive return of 1-5 against Derry.

Oisin Conaty (Armagh) 0-10

THE two-time All-Star and 2025 Young Footballer of the Year was snuffed out by the Tyrone rearguard in round one as he failed to get on the scoresheet. The Fermanagh and Down defences haven’t quite been as lucky in recent weeks and the pacy Tír na nÓg attacker has taken them both for 0-5. He picked up the BBC Man of the Match award following his fantastic performance in their landslide win over Conor Laverty’s men.

Daniel Guinness (Down) 1-7

THE one Down player that came out of the Armagh match with any credit, Guinness caused Kieran McGeeney’s side problems even though there was such a large margin between the two teams at the end. His super goal against Donegal was one of the standout moments of the championship so far and he registered 1-3 as they upset the odds to defeat the champions. He top scored for Down against Armagh last Sunday, kicking 0-4 all from play.