Newtown star McCarthy says O'Connor is club collossus

Newtownshandrum skipper John McCarthy has picked out club and county star Ben O'Connor as one to watch in their St Patrick's Day decider against Dunloy.

The Cork champions face a most experienced Dunloy side but McCarthy is confident that O'Connor, an All-Ireland finalist with Cork last September, has the game to blow them away.

McCarthy said: "Up until the county final we had Ben O'Connor at corner-forward but since we moved him to centre-forward he's been amazing. He's one of the big players on our team and he's worth his weight in gold."

McCarthy's opposite number, Malachy Molloy, is praying the Antrim champs can quell O'Connor and finally end their All-Ireland final heartache.

"Ben O'Connor is a huge threat to us but it's the lesser known players that usually surprise you on the day," said Molloy at this afternoon's press conference to launch the final in Dublin.

"We've been here so many times before and never won the competition so we know a lot of the pitfalls that exist. We won't be getting overly worried about one player."