Leitrim footballer Emlyn Mulligan says Tyrone are lacking the marquee forward needed to win an All-Ireland final against Dublin.
Tyrone booked their place in their first All-Ireland SFC final in 10 years following a dramatic one-point win against Monaghan on Sunday, with their inside forward line of Lee Brennan, Richard Donnelly and Connor McAliskey combining for five points, including two frees.
Mulligan suspects that this is an area on the pitch where Tyrone could falter against Dublin, who are chasing a fourth consecutive All-Ireland crown.
"The thing that's lacking is just their inside forward line," Mulligan told presenter Damian Lawlor on the latest episode of the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"I watched Lee Brennan come on against Donegal last week and he was absolutely superb, he was a joy to watch. He was so unpredictable on the ball and then Mickey Harte decided to take a chance on him [against Monaghan] and it just didn't happen."
He continued that the reliance on players on other lines of the pitch to get scores could harm Tyrone's chances in the final, but he also commended their level of conditioning which has sustained them through eight games across 10 weeks of inter-county action.
"[Connor] McAlliskey was taken off, Richard Donnelly was taken off. That's the third game in-a-row now that the two of them have been taken off and I just think their lacking that marquee inside forward line, the Conor McManus type that can consistently cause a threat.
"At the end of the day, they're very reliant on half-backs coming up [to get scores] like Tiernan McCann, Colm Cavanagh, Padraig Hampsey.
"I just think it's going to be a step too far for them against Dublin in the way that Dublin play. They can defend and attack. I think the full-forward line is where they don't have enough to kill off a solid Dublin team.
"But in terms of conditioning, that's their eighth game in 10 weeks and it hasn't taken a flinch out of them so you just hope they would be competitive."
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