This year's county SHC and IHC finals were both tense affairs as just a point separated Kiltale and Kildalkey as the former claimed their fourth consecutive title, while Na Fianna and Navan O'Mahony's must do it all again in the intermediate decider.

From the four teams, we pick what we feel were the best 15 players on show at Pairc Tailteann last Saturday afternoon.

1 Paul Fagan (Kildalkey): May have suffered a fifth county final defeat, but can be proud of his performance, made an excellent save from Cillian O'Sullivan in the second half, while couldn't be faulted for the Kiltale goal

2 Padraig Geoghegan (Kildalkey): Played the captain's role to perfection, deployed in a sweeper role, mopping up and cutting out many of Kiltale's attacks in that enthralling county SHC final

3 Evan Mullally (Na Fianna): A rock in the heart of the Na Fianna defence whose strength was to the fore on more than one occasion; made a number of timely interceptions

4 Ciaran Ennis (Kiltale): Used his experience to good effect. The Kiltale full back line was under a lot of pressure throughout the clash against Kildalkey, but they found Ennis a major obstacle

5 Brin Kelly (Kildalkey): Composed, confident and strong, the youngster played like a player beyond his years. Excellent challenge on Kevin Ryan and clearance rallied his team mates

6 Maurice Keogh (Kildalkey): It was crucial that Kildalkey won the battle around the middle third, which they did for long periods with the experienced Keogh doing the work that sometimes goes unnoticed

7 Conor Shirren (Kiltale): Has made the wing back position his own this year and continued to show great consistency in the final, which should seem him elevated to the county squad

8 Sean Heavey (Kildalkey): Turned back the clock with a vintage performance, hooked harried and hassled the opposition and scored 0-03, two of which were sublime line balls

9 Dylan Regan (O'Mahony's): When O'Mahony's were under pressure, it was generally a well timed challenge or high fielding by this man that lifted the side, chipped in with a fine point

10 James Kelly (Kiltale): The reason Kiltale are the 2017 SHC champions. His direct running and point taking were a joy to watch in a man of the match performance

11 Diarmuid Bailey (Na Fianna): Another player that has shown great consistency this year, always willing to do the 'dirty work' in order to help the side, which was evident's in last Saturday's tussle

12 Mark O'Sullivan (Kiltale): The defending champions needed leaders to stand up and be counted especially in the second half and the former county footballer's 1-02 made a telling difference

13 Evan Fitzgerald (Kildalkey): Arguably Kildalkey's player of the year. Showed his versatility by switching from midfield to corner forward and preceded to score 1-02 from play

14 Conor Kearney (Kildalkey): Has received some criticism this year for his work rate, but couldn't be faulted an ounce last Saturday, scoring 0-06, three from play and three from frees

15 Sean Martin (Na Fianna): The county minor has caused problems for many defences this year and was up to his old tricks again last weekend as O'Mahony's tried two markers to curb his influence

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