Needs to Keep one more clean sheet

2 MICHAEL SHIELDS

7.5 Club St Finbarr's Age 21 Occupation Student When Larry Tompkins said last summer that Cork possessed some new players with "the right stuff", he would have been thinking of Shields. Looking to become "rst man since Steven O'Brien to win under-21 and senior All Irelands as a starter in the same year.

Needs to Be ready to play some minutes on Donaghy

3 GRAHAM CANTY

9 Club Bantry Blues Age 27 Occupation Engineer "The first man I'd buy if there was a transfer market, " says Mickey Harte. Even in a year when Owens, McCloy and Fay have all been at the peak of their game, no one or no thing can stop Canty collecting his first All Star next month.

Needs to Be the Gooch Stopper

4 KIERAN O'CONNOR

7.5 Club Aghada Age 28 Occupation Mechanical fitter Was troubled by not only Gooch but by Louth's diminutive livewire Colm Judge, yet remains Cork's best man marker.

Maybe not as comfortable on the ball as four other Cork defenders but he'll create and even take the odd score with a foray upfield.

Needs to Have the game of his life; for all his virtues Kerry will target him

5 NOEL O'LEARY

8 Club Cill na Martra Age 25 Occupation Tree surgeon The latest in the fine tradition of fiery, ball-playing, ball-running Cork wing backs, though he's way more volatile than Niall Cahalane ever was. The best kicker of a ball Cork have from one to nine, he's as loved by Cork fans as he is targeted by opponents.

Needs to Stay on the field and avoid taking the bait

6 GER SPILLANE

8 Club Ballygarvan Age 26 Occupation Sales rep Two years ago Cork hardly looked as if they needed a new centre-back with it being Canty's best position and Anthony Lynch having just played the best football of his career there.

The defence is a more formidable unit though for Spillane's presence Needs to Hold the centre instead of being dragged out

7 JOHN MISKELLA

7.5 Club Ballincollig Age 29 Occupation EMC manufacturing A remarkable study in persistence; though he made his debut in the last century, he was only granted his second championship start this summer. Kick-started Cork's revival in Munster final but could be troubled by direct running of a Brosnan or Galvin.

Needs toWin his share of carpet ball

8 NICHOLAS MURPHY

8.5 Club Carrigaline Age 29 Occupation Sales manager Isn't the all-round footballer that Whelan, Cavanagh, O Se or McGrane are but this past three years he's probably been more effective and consistent than the lot. A phenomenal fielder, this summer he's scored in four of Cork's six games.

Needs to Finally trump Darragh in Croker

9 DEREK KAVANAGH (capt)

7.5 Club Nemo Rangers Age 26 Occupation Engineer Never afraid to take responsibility on or off the field, even if it means his limited kicking ability is regularly exposed. His capacity to track back is an unheralded reason why Cork boast the best defensive record in the country.

Needs toWin his share of ball, be it on the ground or in the air

10 CONOR McCARTHY

7.5 Commercial lender Good move to start him, providing some badly-needed craft to the half-forward line. The most creative player Cork have and well able to take a score. The problem is he tends to forget that.

Needs to Be assertive in front of the posts instead of opting for a lay-off

11 PEARSE O'NEILL

8 Club Aghada Age 27 Occupation Accountant Hardly the most orthodox centre-forward to play in an All Ireland but this year he's been one of the most effective. Gives Quirke huge options with the kickout, wins a huge amount of dirty ball and while he mightn't be great to kick a point, he can fist one.

Needs to Keep winning the breaks and keep driving forward

12 KEVIN McMAHON

8 Club Carbery Rangers Age 25 Occupation Civil servant Loves Croke Park where his exceptional athleticism can avail of all the wide spaces. Tomas O Se's most difficult opponent.

Needs to Keep moving and keep looking to get a second or third score instead of staying in his old comfort zone of just the one point or none at all

13 JAMES MASTERS

8 Club Nemo Rangers Age 25 Occupation Garda Worth his spot on the team for his free-taking alone; in one five-minute spell in the Munster final he scored a sideline ball and a free from 55 yards out. About 10 players in the country would have scored one of them; no other player, both. Yet. . .Needs to Finally cut loose in Croke Park

14 MICHAEL CUSSEN

7 Club Glanmire Age 24 Occupation Trainee Garda A decent target man and a decent ball player for a big man, but if he's not going to be on the edge of the square, why play him at all? Using him as a decoy, a la the semi-final, can only work once.

Club O'Donovan Rossa, Skibbereen Age 26 Occupation Needs to Be more decisive and aggressive close to goal

15 DONNCHA O'CONNOR

8 Club Ballydesmond Age 26 Occupation Fitter We can see why Niall Cahalane feels he could develop into another Stevie McDonnell; he's a brilliant ball-winner, has a nose for goal and can shoot from all angles. The most improved forward in the country this past two years, bar none.

Needs to Get plenty of ball

THE BENCH

7. 5 Only in Kerry and Tyrone are A v B games so keenly contested, but Anthony Lynch's injury restricts the options while the decision to give Michael Prout, Eoin Cadogan and Daniel Goulding so little game-time this summer could come back to haunt a management team that will be loath to risk them. Expect Goulding (pictured) on at some stage though; he has an astonishing scoring record against Kerry at under-21 and National League level and is capable of making a serious impact.

MANAGER BILLY MORGAN 9 Club Nemo Rangers A one-man retort to those who say you should never go back. Twenty years ago himself and Babs led their people out of provincial bondage, and two years after that, into the promised land itself, but only one of them has made a good fist of it the second time around. It's a credit to Morgan's obsessive will to win and learn that he's coped so well with the younger, more educated generation.

Total: 135/170