Finding a balance: A look at the scoring returns and impact from the bench in the race for Sam

With just one more game left to decide if the Sam Maguire Cup heads north or west, Michael McMullan delves into the competition’s scoring patterns and the impact teams get from their bench.

WATCHING Ross McQuillan cut through Kerry on Saturday summed up what going down the stretch in Croke Park is all about.

We have all been there, looking on when the clock ticks into the final quarter and wondering if our team has more to give.

They were helped by the collective, but Aaron McKay and Barry McCambridge kept a lid on Kerry duo David Clifford and Sean O’Shea.

Together, Clifford and O’Shea kicked 45 per cent of Kerry’s scores across league and championship. A tally split down the middle.

But containment is only half the battle in Croke Park. It’s the foundation. Success comes from the blocks you lay yourself.

Armagh may have rode their luck at times. They needed Paddy Burns to dive at Tom O’Sullivan’s feet, forcing him pull a goal chance wide that could’ve opened a seven-point lead.

But as the game wore on, Armagh turned down the panic card. Instead, they kept on trucking with McCambridge punching to the net to cancel out an equally fortuitous Kerry goal.

McQuillan was front and centre. His curling shot between the posts on the Hill 16 end was just his third score of a summer that comprised 182 minutes across eight substitute appearances.

Of that, 103 came in the championship, including a 53-minute blood sub appearance for Peter McGrane against Derry that yielded a vital goal.

On Saturday, Conor Turbitt came back on the field to kick another two points against Kerry.

Oisin Conaty reappeared to take a second cut at the Kingdom.

Jarly Óg Burns kicked a boomer. Fresh legs are king. Oisin O’Neill gave them something else to think about. After his injury hell, he looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

Then there is the Stefan Campbell debate. While Kerry didn’t have the numbers going down the stretch, ‘Soupy’ was again the ace up Kieran McGeeney’s sleeve.

He has kicked 1-21 from play despite starting six of Armagh’s games on the bench. Of the last three games, he has come on for a defensive player at half-time.

As well as the scoring return to his name, opponents will have to plan their marking arrangements around his runs in the second half.

Padraic Joyce will factor him in when he trots down the dressing room corridor at half-time in the final.

For all the noise from keyboard warriors directed at McGeeney’s lack of success as a manager, his players stuck by him.

Niall Grimley was given some club action and has turned into a colossus at midfield. Everyone has stuck by the squad.

Kerry could’ve been doing with a Jack Barry or a Micheál Burns going down the stretch.

Cillian Burke did the trick against Derry with Dylan Geaney and Killian Spillane chipping in with points. But Armagh had a heavier hammer.

Shane McGuigan has kicked 32 per cent of Derry’s total. Lachlan Murray is 2-51 behind him in second place.

Only Cavan’s Paddy Lynch (35 per cent), Mayo’s Ryan O’Donoghue (34) and Sam Mulroy (38) carry more of their team’s scores.

Much of the debate surrounding Derry’s All-Ireland chances comes back to the same thing, their strength in depth.

With Benny Heron retired and Niall Loughlin out for much of the season, they didn’t have the same experienced options.

Outside of Niall Toner’s 0-10 – the top scoring substitute from play across all 16 Sam Maguire counties – Mickey Harte didn’t have the same range of options.

Of the 16 teams, Derry’s 0-17 from players coming in off the bench this season was ranked 12th.

Only Clare, Tyrone, Meath and Louth had lower tallies from the bench.

All-Ireland finalists Galway are a walking example of sucking up any problems dropped at their door. Injury and Galway have walked hand in hand. But Joyce just persisted with whoever was fit to pull on a jersey and it was enough to take them on an incremental journey to within touching distance of Sam.

Of their starting team in the win over Donegal, only five started every league game.

Liam Silke didn’t feature until they met Kerry in the last league weekend. Shane Walsh started the first game with Mayo and didn’t play until the championship. Neither Cillian McDaid nor Damien Comer played a minute of league. Matthew Tierney missed six successive games in the middle of the year.

In their absence, John Maher, Céin D’Arcy and Sean Mulkerrin bedded in to become championship men after being away from the setup.

It has stood to them. On top of his three goals, Tomo Culhane’s point against Dublin proved to be the winner.

Like McQuillan, he had to be content with coming in off the bench. It was just six minutes but his point sunk the Dubs.

John Daly is an All-Star defender that fell out of favour in the last four outings. Kieran Molloy was a regular who also dropped down the pecking order.

He was Joyce’s final card off the bench against Donegal. The Galway manager yelled for one more possession on Sunday when Donegal needed a ball like no other.

The Ulster champions’ press forced Connor Gleeson to kick long and it was Molloy who hoovered up the break. Another inch closer to Sam in one of those small, yet massive, moments.

Johnny Heaney was another regular. Having started every game bar coming on in a draw with Roscommon back in February, he lost his place when D’Arcy became a bigger kick-out target for the championship.

Heaney kicked a vital point against Dublin as the game turned. He came in against Donegal. Dáire Ó Baoill had 4-13 to his name by the time he ran into the scoring zone late on. Donegal needed a point. A threat.

Who was inside him only Heaney. Positioned perfectly to force Ó Baoill into pot shot territory and Johnny McGrath did the rest. Ó Baoill’s shot went wide. Another one per cent gain. And Heaney’s level of experience told him where the Donegal running channels were.

McQuillan and Heaney probably won’t he handed a jersey numbered lower than 16 on All-Ireland final day. They won’t get to walk the red carpet or march behind the band. But, they are road-tested,

Joyce and McGeeney know exactly what options they have seated in the Hogan Stand behind them. Their substitutions won’t be a shot in the dark. That’s what makes Sunday week so interesting.

HERE are some scoring statistics on the teams in the last 16 of the Sam Maguire race.

Armagh
Games played: 16
Scoring average: 1-15
Top scorer: Conor Turbitt 5-54
Percentage of team’s total score: 23.4%
Top scorer from play: Conor Turbitt 4-24
Scores from subs: 1-34 (3f)
Top scorer from bench: Aidan Nugent 0-9 (4f)
Players started: 24
Players used: 29

Galway
Games played: 16
Scoring average: 1-13
Top scorer: Rob Finnerty 1-48
Percentage of team’s total score: 19.6%
Top scorer from play: Paul Conroy 2-16
Scores from subs: 4-25 (7f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: Tomo Culhane 3-1
Players started: 28
Players used: 30

Kerry
Games played: 14
Scoring average: 1-17
Top scorer: David Clifford 3-54
Percentage of team’s total score: 22.9%
Top scorer from play: David Clifford 3-27
Scores from subs: 2-16 (1f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: David Clifford 1-2 (1f)
Players started: 32
Players used: 34

Donegal
Games played: 16
Scoring average: 1-17
Top scorer: Oisín Gallen 3-59
Percentage of team’s total score: 21.7%
Top scorer from play: Oisín Gallen 2-28
Scores from subs: 1-24 (2f)
Top scorer from bench: Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí 0-6
Players started: 29
Players used: 33

Derry
Games played: 14
Scoring average: 1-14
Top scorer: Shane McGuigan 3-70
Percentage of team’s total score: 31.5%
Top scorer from play: Shane McGuigan 1-32
Scores from subs: 0-17 (1f)
Top scorer from bench: Niall Toner 0-10 (1f)
Players started: 25
Players used: 29

Dublin
Games played: 15
Scoring average: 2-21
Top scorer: Con O’Callaghan 7-52
Percentage of team’s total score: 20.7%
Top scorer from play: Con O’Callaghan 6-27
Scores from subs: 4-24 (1m)
Top scorer from bench: Colm Basquel 1-3
Players started: 31
Players used: 33

Roscommon
Games played: 13
Scoring average: 1-13
Top scorer: Diarmuid Murtagh 1-43
Percentage of team’s total score: 24.5%
Top scorer from play: Diarmuid Murtagh 1-23
Scores from subs: 1-15 (5f)
Top scorer from bench: Conor Cox 0-9 (5f)
Players started: 26
Players used: 32

Louth
Games played: 15
Scoring average: 2-12
Top scorer: Sam Mulroy 7-74
Percentage of team’s total score: 37.5%
Top scorer from play: Sam Mulroy 5-15
Scores from subs: 1-9
Top scorer from bench: Tom Jackson 1-2
Players started: 23
Players used: 32

Monaghan
Games played: 13
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorer: Jack McCarron 2-33
Percentage of team’s total score: 21.8%
Top scorer from play: Jack McCarron 1-10
Scores from subs: 4-25 (6f, 6m)
Top scorers from bench: Conor McManus 0-6f, Barry McBennett 1-3
Players started: 30
Players used: 32

Mayo
Games played: 14
Scoring average: 1-15
Top scorer: Ryan O’Donoghue 3-74
Percentage of team’s total score: 33.5%
Top scorer from play: Ryan O’Donoghue 1-26
Scores from subs: 4-21 (2-0pens, 1f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: Cillian O’Connor 2-5 (2-0pens, 1m, 1f)
Players started: 31
Players used: 37

Tyrone
Games played: 13
Scoring average: 1-15
Top scorer: Darragh Canavan 3-52
Percentage of team’s total score: 27.7%
Top scorer from play: Darragh Canavan 3-28
Scores from subs: 0-13 (7f)
Top scorer from bench: Darren McCurry 0-8 (6f) NFL v Mayo
Players started: 29
Players used: 34

Cork
Games played: 13
Scoring average: 1-13
Top scorer: Brian Hurley 0-42
Percentage of team’s total score: 19.2%
Top scorer from play: Chris Óg Jones 3-27
Scores from subs: 2-15 (8f)
Top scorer from bench: Stephen Sherlock 0-11 (7f)
Players started: 25
Players used: 33

Cavan
Games played: 12
Scoring average: 1-14
Top scorer: Paddy Lynch 2-62
Percentage of team’s total score: 34.7%
Top scorers from play: Paddy Lynch/Gerard Smith 2-10
Scores from subs: 1-16 (1f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: Cian Madden 0-4 (1f)
Players started: 27
Players used: 33

Clare
Games played: 12
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorer: Emmet McMahon 1-41
Percentage of team’s total score: 24.9%
Top scorer from play: Aaron Griffin 2-22
Scores from subs: 1-13 (3f, 3 45)
Top scorer from bench: Diarmuid O’Donnell 1-7 (3f)
Players started: 22
Players used: 32

Meath
Games played: 12
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorer: Eoghan Frayne 1-37
Percentage of team’s total score: 24.8%
Top scorer from play: Eoghan Frayne 0-22
Scores from subs: 1-9 (1f)
Top scorer from bench: Cian McBride 1-0
Players started: 32
Players used: 33

Westmeath
Games played: 12
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorer: Ronan O’Toole 0-20
Percentage of team’s total score: 12.7%
Top scorer from play: Ronan O’Toole 0-20
Scores from subs: 0-19 (5f)
Top scorer from bench: Robbie Forde 0-7 (3f)
Players started: 26
Players used: 28

DOWN, Antrim and Fermanagh competed in the Tailteann Cup. Here are there stats.

Down
Games played: 16
Scoring average: 1-16
Top scorer: Pat Havern 0-73
Percentage of team’s total score: 22.8%
Top scorer from play: Daniel Guinness 4-20
Scores from subs: 1-29 (3f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: Oisín Savage 1-8 (2f, 1m)
Players started: 32
Players used: 38

Antrim
Games played: 14
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorer: Dominic McEnhill 2-22
Percentage of team’s total score: 13.2%
Top scorer from play: Paddy McBride 0-22
Scores from subs: 0-16 (2f)
Top scorers from bench: Conor Hand 0-5/Dominic McEnhill 0-5 (1f)
Players started: 24
Players used: 31

Fermanagh
Games played: 12
Scoring average: 1-12
Top scorers: Garvan Jones 1-29/Sean Cassidy 4-20
Percentage of team’s total score: 18.3%
Top scorer from play: Sean Cassidy 4-10
Scores from subs: 2-13 (2f, 1m)
Top scorer from bench: Conor Love 2-4 (1f)
Players started: 22
Players used: 28

All statistics are based on
league and championship
games across 2024.