Joanne Cantwell's Inside View

If Sean Cavanagh makes a complete mess of eight goal-chances on Sunday, but sticks two further opportunities in the back of the net to send Sam Maguire back to Tyrone, he'll be hailed the Hero of this Year's All-Ireland final.

If Ryan McMenamin keeps Colm Cooper in his pocket for 99 per cent of the game, but loses sight of him just once, leading to a Kerry goal, the Tyrone defender is likely to become the focus of blame if that means Sam stays put in the Kingdom.

So, where am I going with this? Last Sunday week, The Sunday Game's hurling panel decided to give the Man of the Match from the All-Ireland Hurling final to the entire Kilkenny team, based on the fact that they were unable to separate any of them. This wasn't a cop out. I was present at the meeting when every time somebody nominated a particular player everybody agreed he had been outstanding - it meant there were nearly 15 players mentioned at some point, with nobody able to pick a clear winner.

A couple of the analysts had picked out separate forwards, only for a third (who arrived late into the mix) to suggest JJ Delaney for the gong, because he had made five outstanding fetches during the game. But then, on further thought, the third analyst asked if JJ had been in the forward line, would he have similarly been able to stick the sliotar over the bar five times?

He decided he probably wouldn't have, because, according to the analyst, 'there's far more pressure on a forward than there is on a defender.'

This is a theory that many people seem to go along with. How often does a defender get the Man of the Match gong? Maybe 15/20 per cent of the time at best. I watched Laois forward Ross Munnelly claim our own MOTM trophy during a Saturday Game broadcast, where his side had just narrowly overcome Wicklow.

Munnelly had hit, I would guess, a good five wides throughout the match. He was also outstanding throughout, making great runs, linking well with the other players, and creating more, and converting plenty of, chances. But he had the luxury of having his other mis-haps forgotten about, due to his other attributes.

If one of his defensive team-mates had missed five tackles, but performed excellently otherwise during the game, would he have been rewarded likewise? Certainly not.

Also, when a defender is marking a top forward, and the top forward does very little throughout the game, more often than not it's suggested the attacking player had been off his game.

Take Tyrone's All-Ireland semi-final win over Wexford. Wexford had previously overcome the Red Hand's arch enemy, Armagh, with Matty Forde, struggling with a hamstring injury, coming from nowhere to land crucial scores.

Against Tyrone in the semi-final he was apparently 'off his game'. Heaven forbid, Conor Gormley might have had something to do with the predator's quiet 35 minutes.

Admittedly, Forde went off injured at half-time, but Gormley, arguably the best marker in the game at the moment, was in control from throw-in.

This Sunday, all the talk will be about the Gooch, the Twin Towers, Sean Cavanagh, Colm McCullough, the McGuigans. Will there be more pressure on these men than there will on those who mark them?

Does Kieran Donaghy face a harder, more pressurised task than Gormley, whom I'd expect to pick up the giant full-forward?

What about Tommy Griffin or Marc Ó Sé - the two most likely candidates to mark the spectacular Cavanagh? There's certainly a greater weight of expectation on the attacking players, but if they make a few mistakes nobody really notices, as long as they do a couple of productive moves as well.

If those marking them mess up once, it's probably game over. And they know it. Which pressure would you prefer?

The truth is the outcome of this year's All-Ireland final won't hinge on which of the outstanding forwards from each side performs best, it'll probably hinge on which side is capable of dealing with their opponents' outstanding forwards better.

So, Misters Gormley, McMenamin, McMahon, Misters Ó Sé, O'Mahony, O'Sullivan, I believe the greatest pressure is on you. But, if you manage to complete your job correctly, your markers won't get all those plaudits they've been used to all year.

But, does that mean those plaudits will make their way in your direction? Unlikely. Still, the current Footballer of the Year is a corner-back, so you never know.........