Ben O’Carroll (St Brigid’s, Roscommon)
A man of the match gong on your full League debut is no bad start to life as an inter-county footballer and Ben O’Carroll will hope to carry that impact into Roscommon’s Championship opener against Mayo on Sunday.
He tallied 1-11 from play, off left and right, as Roscommon finished third in Division 1, starting with that starring 1-2 against Tyrone in which he also set up another goal.
He’s a player for the big moments. He followed that insurance goal against Tyrone by helping to turn the game off the bench against Galway and scoring the clinching point in beating Armagh. He was also fouled for the winning penalty in the latter match.
He was twice named on the GAA Team of the Week after his performances against Tyrone and Donegal, in which he scored 0-3 before exiting at half-time.
He was a member of the Roscommon U20 team that reached the 2021 All-Ireland final, losing to Offaly, and featured on UCD’s Sigerson Cup team this spring.
Conor Corbett (Clyda Rovers, Cork)
The 2019 Minor Footballer of the Year and All-Ireland winning captain, Conor Corbett was always a top prospect until his Cork senior debut was delayed by injury.
He scored 1-7 in that 2019 All-Ireland final and notched a notable 2-4 in an U20 semi-final victory over Kerry a week before damaging his cruciate in the 2021 Munster U20 final.
He went exactly 366 days off the field, suffering a hamstring strain on his return to Cork training before making a goal-scoring comeback for his club, Clyda Rovers, last July.
Since making his senior debut this year, his biggest impacts have come off the bench. He scored an electric 2-1 against Limerick and his later 0-3 burst was instrumental in grabbing a draw against Derry.
Quick, strong, and direct, he will be called upon in Championship when Cork are most in need of scores.
Daire Newcombe (Lucan Sarsfields, Dublin)
An impressive debut League campaign has seen Daire Newcombe become a firm favourite so far under Dessie Farrell.
After a summer in San Francisco, the 23-year-old corner-back from Lucan Sarsfields has earned his place on the panel and made the breakthrough onto the starting team in no time.
He has played every minute of their last seven games in a row and was named man of the match in their promotion-clinching contest against Louth.
Newcombe also impressed in scoring two points against Cork while holding the dangerous Steven Sherlock to one pointed free.
He was named on the GAA Team of the Week after both performances and almost added his first goal in the Division 2 final victory against Derry.
A reliable full-back on the Dublin team that reached the 2019 All-Ireland U20 final against Cork, he has made the breakthrough alongside another veteran of that side in goalkeeper David O’Hanlon.
Eoin McEvoy (Magherafelt, Derry)
The 19-year-old full-back started all of Derry’s first 10 games in 2023 before missing the dead-rubber trip to Cork through injury and only returning as a late sub in the Division 2 final defeat.
His performances have enabled Rory Gallagher to switch Brendan Rogers to a midfield role without losing anything in defence.
Their miserly 3-60 (69 points) conceded in seven matches was, by a distance, the most frugal across all four divisions (only Westmeath and Galway also conceded a total less than 90 points), until Dublin unlocked their defence for four goals in the final.
Despite wearing no.3 and dealing with opposition dangerman, McEvoy hasn’t been slow to get involved in counter-attacks, kicking points against Meath and Kildare. He was included on the GAA Team of the Week after the latter performance.
A big year lies ahead, not only at senior level but at U20, with Derry looking to back up their 2020 All-Ireland minor victory. Back then, McEvoy was named at centre-back on the Minor Team of the Year.
He went on to captain St Mary’s, Magherafelt, to the MacRory Cup just last year but injury limited his senior involvement.
Johnny McGrath (Caherlistrane, Galway)
A tenacious corner-back, Johnny McGrath has shown signs that he could be the man to step into the void left by Liam Silke or Kieran Molloy.
He captained Galway to the 2019 All-Ireland minor final, having turned in a man-of-the-match display against Kerry in their semi-final victory.
He was named on the Minor Team of the Year before going on to play three years as a starter at U20, winning an All-Ireland in his first year with victory over Dublin.
Galway had four League wins this year and McGrath appeared in all four, including three clean sheets. He was handed the responsibility of marking Ryan O’Donoghue in the Division 1 final, although another clean sheet wasn’t enough against Mayo.
A sprinter and all-around athlete with Galway City Harries in his youth, he has built on those physical attributes to accelerate his progress in the senior setup.
Sam Callinan (Ballina Stephenites, Mayo)
An injury to Enda Hession has opened the door for Sam Callinan to get a run of games as a roving corner-back and he has taken the opportunity with both hands.
Having received his Mayo debut last year when still a schoolboy at St Muredach’s College, the Ballina native went on to impress for the U20s at centre-back.
He was named as one of the 20 best footballers of the championship, Mayo’s only representative, despite injury ruling him out of their Connacht final defeat to Sligo. At 19, he’s still underage for U20 involvement again this year.
His pace, game intelligence, and ability to dispossess an opponent have been standout features as he completed the full 70 minutes in Mayo’s final four League games, ending with his first national title.
He first came to prominence with an inspirational performance for Ballina Stephenites on national TV in a Mayo SFC quarter-final defeat to Westport back in 2021, while he lined up at midfield in the 2022 county final rematch.
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