Only one of the last seven Tyrone SFC winners remain in the race for the 2018 title as this weekend’s semi-finals draw nearer, but there are still plenty of established powers in the mix.
All but the name of Edendork drop easily off the tongue as an instantly recognisable force of Red Hand club football.
While Killyclogher and Ardboe face off in a clash of heavyweights, Coalisland’s meeting with the outsiders has failed to persuade the bookies that an upset could be on the cards.
But midfielder Plunkett Kane cautions that danger lurk and nothing must be taken for granted in Saturday’s O’Neill Park eliminator.
“No way would we be underestimating Edendork. We played Edendork at the start of the year, and we beat them just by the skin of our teeth, it could have gone either way,” he said.
“We know the quality players that they have, they have a couple of county players. We don’t take anybody for granted, we go out on the day to try and play to our best and believe in ourselves.
“We’ll go out there, give it our best, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Coalisland have turned their season around following a faltering start to the league campaign, with a change of management seeing the return of Damian O’Hagan, who guided the club to its last O’Neill Cup triumph eight years ago.
“From the start of the year it hasn’t been good, and the management changed. New people came in and it settled the whole thing.
“We were struggling in the league, but we knew, come championship, everybody wants to do well.”
Kane, who captain the Fianna to that 2010 success, is hungry for another championship, but his thoughts will not be preoccupied by past achievements.
“We can’t think about that now, we have just got to get our heads up and give this a real rattle, it’s a big step, and hopefully we can get through it.”
A semi-final win over Errigal Ciaran came as a mild surprise, but 33-year-old Kane never doubted that the Blues were capable of a big performance, and he was one of the stars of last Sunday’s two points win at Carrickmore.
“We knew it was going to be a nip and tuck battle. Everybody was swaying towards Errigal because of their league position, and they’re on a great run.
“But we knew that on our day we’re as good as anybody, so it was good to get out and express ourselves.
“But all we get for beating Errigal is that we’re in a semi-final. If we go out the next day and get beat, it means nothing.”
Experienced players like Stephen McNally, Paddy McNeice and Niall Kerr remain at he core of the operation, but an injection of young talent, including Michael McKernan and Peter Herron, has added freshness and dash to the team.
“It’s good to have boys like that you can call on. Every team needs a mixture of the older generation and the younger generation coming through.”
And then there’s Padraig Hampsey, a man for all missions and a towering presence wherever he plays.
In the first round defeat of Dromore, he was a constant driving force from deep, picking off three spectacular points from play, but against Errigal, he sat back to negate the impact of a talented attacking unit.
“The last day he came forward and kicked three scores for us, and against Errigal we needed him to be a rock at the back, and so he was.”
