Tin hats at the ready.
Gaelic Football trios can win a game of football themselves.
A strong line is crucial to any team and, the more lines you can keep strong and united through the field, the more likely you are to succeed.
So, in the spirit of Christmas, we’ve gone and picked the best trios of the last 25 years.
First, and before you start shouting at us, there are some entry criteria.
We’ve only taken teams that have won an All-Ireland.
And we are only considering players from 1990 onwards.
Full-back Line
1. Dublin 2015
Jonny Cooper, Rory O’Carroll, Philly McMahon
There has never been a full-back line like the Dublin vintage of 2015.
Rock solid with a stingy attitude to conceding goals, the men in either corner were also given the licence to attack and put their opposite markers on the back foot as much as possible.
Philly McMahon should have been the Player of the Year, if for nothing more than outscoring one of the best forwards of all time in Colm Cooper, and Mayo star Aidan O’Shea, in successive games.
2. Kerry 2006
Marc Ó Sé, Mike McCarthy, Tom O’Sullivan
A Kingdom full-back line without a north Kerry native, surely some mistake? But just look at the footballers present in this backline who had no sweeper to protect them
Tom O’Sullivan’s pace was in total sync with McCarthy and O Sé’s reading of the game, which meant the house was more than safe with these three guard dogs on the prowl
Honourable mentions:
Tyrone 2008 (R. McMenamin, J McMahon, J McMahon)
Armagh 2002 (E.McNulty, J.McNulty, F.Bellew)
Derry 1993 (K.McKeever, T.Scullion, F.McCusker)
Half-back line
1. Dublin 2015
James McCarthy, Cian O’Sullivan, Jack McCaffrey
This line has everything.
Power, attacking threat, defensive solidity and brains. It has footballing talent to die for and three men that could mark any type of forward or space in any type of game.
2. Galway 2001
Declan Meehan, Tomas Mannion, Sean Óg de Paor
The standard that every single Galway half-back has to try and now reach was set by these guys in 2001 with their level of fitness and marauding attacking runs.
Underrated, but not undervalued, by Galway supporters.
3. Tyrone 2005
Davy Harte, Conor Gormley, Philip Jordan
Mickey Harte’s Gaelic football revolution was based on the fastest transition possible from defence to attack. He needed players that were not only quick on their feet who had played under his system for years, but also who were quick of mind.
Harte and Gormley were the steel in the silk glove that their manager used to knock sense and stuffing out of opposition half-forward lines, while Jordan brought utter class with ball in hand.
Honourable mentions:
Kerry 2006, (T.O Sé, S.Moynihan, A.O’Mahony)
Derry 1993 ( J.McGurk, H.Downey, G.Coleman)
Half-forward line
1. Cork 1990
Dave Barry, Larry Tompkins, Teddy McCarthy
Attackers in an era when men on the ’40 were expected to create, score, defend and go for the full 70 minutes.
Tompkins pulled the strings while Barry, also an accomplished soccer player, had the energy and footwork to avoid some of the more hefty challenges from opponents.
2. Down 1994
Ross Carr, Greg Blaney, James McCartan
If Down could only find a way to clone a younger version of this golden generation for the coming season they would surely be All-Ireland contenders
Honourable mentions:
Dublin 2015 (P.Flynn, D.Connolly, C.Kilkenny)
Cork 2010 (C.Sheehan, P.O’Neill, P.Kelly)
Tyrone 2005 (B.Dooher, B.McGuigan, R.Mellon)
Full-forward line
1. Armagh 2002
Steven McDonnell, Ronan Clarke, Diarmuid Marsden
The classic big man, mixed with one fast man, and all of them skilful men.
2. Tyrone 2005
Peter Canavan, Stephen O’Neill, Owen Mulligan
The only puking done at Croke Park 12 years ago was Pat Spillane choking on his words as Tyrone’s inside line grabbed 1-9 of the 1-16 scored against Kerry.
3. Kerry 2006
Colm Cooper, Kieran Donaghy, Mike Frank Russell
The full-forward line combined everything that Kerry football purists would want; a big man on the edge of the square for direct ball, and two corner forwards in the mould of John Egan or Mikey Sheehy either side.
4. Dublin 2011
Alan Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly, Bernard Brogan
Hard to believe that Connolly failed to score in the Dubs first All-Ireland success in 16 years but he had the Brogans to bail him out as he disrupted Kerry and dragged two men with him in each possession..
5. Donegal 2012
Patrick McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden
Arguably the hardest working trio of all, with their chasing and lung-busting determination to defend and attack.
Murphy and McFadden both finished the game with 1-4, 0-3 from frees, which is always a good day’s work.
Honourable mentions:
Galway 2001 (D.Savage, P.Joyce, T.Joyce)
Dublin 1995 (M.Galvin, J.Sherlock, C.Redmond)
