The anticipated duel between Owen Mulligan and Michael McCarthy is intriguing to say the least. While their personalities couldn't be much different, the Tyrone full forward and the Kerry full back have much in common when it comes to football. Both men are tremendous competitors, have enjoyed successful underage careers and are now realising their potential at the highest level. With his bleached thatch, Mulligan is an unmistakable figure in the modern game. Like many of his team-mates, he won All-Ireland minor and under 21 medals before completing the collection with a senior memento in 2003. His emergence that year took much of the pressure off his former school teacher Peter Canavan, and his strength and scoring ability have marked him out as a real star of this Tyrone team. A member of the Cookstown club, Mulligan struggled to find his best form in the early part of the campaign. But when the need was greatest, he caught fire in spectacular fashion and has been on top of his game ever since. Tyrone looked to be staring at championship elimination in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin until Mulligan got possession of the ball about 45 metres from goal, sold dummies to Stephen O'Shaughnessy and Paul Casey before crashing an unstoppable shot past Stephen Cluxton. It was the best individual goal seen this year and one of the greatest ever scored in Croke Park. The game eventually ended in a draw, and when Dublin threatened to reel in Tyrone with a second half comeback in the replay, Mulligan found the net again to effectively end their challenge. Owen scored 1-7 in the replay and while his tally was just 0-3 in the semi-final against Armagh, he still played a major role in the win and gave Francie Bellew one of his most searching examinations. While Mulligan clearly revels in the spotlight, his All-Ireland final opponent is one of the quiet men of the GAA. Hailing from Kilcummin - the same club as GAA president Sean Kelly - McCarthy performs his duties in an efficient and professional matter and has been one of Kerry's most consistent players in recent years. Michael graduated to the senior set-up shortly after helping the Kerry under 21s to an All-Ireland victory over Laois in 1998. He was corner back when the Kingdom captured Sam Maguire in 2000 and continued in the role until making the switch to the edge of the square during last year's triumphant campaign. Kerry's problems at full back had been well documented, but since taking over the position from Seamus Moynihan, McCarthy has hardly put a foot wrong. Alongside the Rathmore pair Aidan O'Mahony and Tom O'Sullivan, McCarthy has given little away this year and he even managed to get on the scoresheet in the facile All-Ireland semi-final victory over Cork. However, don't expect to see him making too many sorties upfield against Tyrone when his priority will be to keep tabs on one of the Red Hands most dangerous forwards. Tweet

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