Derry come into the 2025 Ulster Championship off the back of a winless league campaign. However, their talisman Conor Glass is in the form of his life, thriving within the game's new rules.
The 27-year-old scored more from the middle of the park over the past two months than in the previous five league campaigns combined, since making his debut in October 2020.
In 2021 he scored 0-05 from play in Division 3, he scored 0-03 between the 2022 and 2023 leagues, and then 1-07 from play en route to winning last year's Division 1 title (1-08 including placed balls).
This year, despite Derry's struggles, he scored 3-17 from play in seven games. Without applying the double scores from his two-pointers, that would still have amounted to 3-12. In the previous five leagues he scored a combined 1-15 from play.
From midfield, Glass was the second top scorer from play in Division 1 in 2025, behind only Dublin's Sean Bugler with 2-22, and across all four divisions only Westmeath's Luke Loughlin (1-24), Limerick's James Naughton (5-15) and Cork's Chris Og Jones (5-17) scored more than him.
Conor Glass has been very accurate in 2025
With manager Paddy Tally only being appointed in mid-November and then injuries to the likes of Conor McCluskey, Gareth McKinless and Brendan Rogers weakening their challenge, Derry's efforts in the 2025 league campaign amounted to just one point, via a draw with Galway in Celtic Park.
When it comes to two-pointers, however, Glass has surprisingly emerged as one of the biggest exploiters of the new rule introduced this year to reward long-range scores.
The rangy midfielder converted five double-pointers from play, and across all four divisions only Daire Ó Baoill of Donegal and Mark Russell of Tipperary (six apiece), and Shane Walsh of Galway, Pat Havern of Down and Westmeath's Luke Loughlin (seven) have scored more two-pointers from play than he has.
Glass scored five from eight attempts outside of the new arc, for an impressive 62.5% conversion rate from outside the newly marked distance. In total, he has shot 21 times - an average of three shots per game - and scored from 15 of those attempts at a rate of 71%.
"Glass scored five from eight attempts outside of the new arc, for an impressive 62.5% conversion rate from outside the newly marked distance"
As Derry are down so many key and quality players, the reliance on Glass is even more pronounced but it's a role he thrives in.
The club All-Ireland winner with the Glen in 2023/4 stepped up to the plate in the final two rounds to score 0-14 and assist 0-02 against Mayo and Armagh, leaving him in prime form for Sunday's preliminary round clash with Donegal.
In the final round of games in the top division, over two thirds of kickouts were contested. Donegal's Shaun Patton has one of the game's longest restarts in his armoury and Jim McGuinness' team contains a number of capable ball winners, whereas Derry look set to be without the injured Rogers and midfielder Anton Tohill.
With the latter coming into the starting team this year and taking the mantle as the main kickout contester, Glass has relished upon the added freedom to get back as a plus one and then join the attack even more consistently.
In total, over the final round of Division 1 games, an average of 33 kickouts were contested per match with seven caught cleanly.
With Tohill contesting the majority of restarts for Derry in recent weeks, Glass averaged over the entire league just seven contested restarts per match. In total he caught five restarts cleanly.
Conor Glass will have to fight a greater aerial battle with Anton Tohill expected to be absent
Across the final two rounds, Derry won possession from 77% of the kickouts Glass contested.
The increased number of long kickouts is another result of the new rules introduced this year, which Glass was set to benefit from as one of the best fielders in the modern game. However, with his midfield partner and fellow AFL convert Tohill lifting the majority of the load in terms of the aerial duels, he has thrived more so elsewhere.
Given the increased space and speed of the game, Glass has been able to use his athleticism and skillset to add impact at both ends of the field. Two of his scores in both the Mayo and Armagh games started with him picking up the breaks or being involved in the early transition before then being the one to convert the score in the forward line.
In Tohill's absence, Derry will need Glass to continue to add significant impact in attack and defence, as well as now contesting the majority of kickouts. This will likely increase the number of marks and clean catches he makes but it may also eat into his enormous energy bank.
Daire Ó Baoill (L) has emerged as Donegal's two-point specialist
Their opponents, Donegal also have one of the league's two-point specialists in their ranks in Ó Baoill.
He is one of five Donegal players to have combined for a total of 10 two-pointers from play during the league (six by Ó Baoill). Glass was one of five Derry players to score a total of nine two-pointers from play.
League finalists Mayo and Kerry are the two Division 1 teams with the lowest number of two-pointers from the league, via the lowest number of players.
Tyrone kicked just six through five players, reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh kicked 10 through seven players, while the same amount of Dublin players scored 11 two-pointers from play.
Galway were the top-tier's biggest two-point scorers with 16 from play from eight different players.
The new rules were introduced to allow the likes of Glass to exhibit his full array of talents, and when it comes to his athleticism, ball-winning ability, scoring accuracy from midfield, and two-pointers there are few better.
Due to the extent of his team's injury list, he'll face a challenge to maintain his impact around the field with an increased presence required under kickouts.
The two-point and kickout rules, however, provide him with the opportunity to dominate a game like never before and if Derry are to have any chance of overturning Donegal in Ballybofey they will need Conor Glass to be at his brilliant best in all departments.
Watch Donegal v Derry in the Ulster Football Championship on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
