AN Ulster MFC title won with style and poise would have passed Tyrone by had it not been for the midfield powerplays of Ronan Donnelly and Ruairi McHugh.
The pair have development a dynamic partnership in an engine-room that has a talented team firing on all cylinders.
Another hugely effective showing by the towering dup helped the Red Hands to a first provincial triumph in nine years, and now they have Cork in their sights in this Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final at Tullamore.
"We have a good understanding, and we just know what to do," said Donnelly, who is happy to operate in a holding role, allowing McHugh to charge forward at every opportunity.
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"Usually I let Ruairi go on and go forward on those runs, and I sit in a more defensive position.
"He's unreal, the way he can catch all those kick-outs is a bit help, and his physicality is a great thing to have for the team.
"But I finally kicked a score myself against Donegal, so that was nice to get."
Despite McHugh's second half black card at Brewster Park last Friday, the Red Hands stepped up the tempo and killed off Donegal's challenge with two goals.
That sin-bin spell forced a temporary shift in strategy, but it all worked out in Tyrone's favour.
"We knew when Ruairi got the black card, we would have to concede their kick-outs, sit back and prevent the scores, and we did that.
"And somehow we got the two goals when we were a man down, and we just kicked on from there really.
"It worked out in the end, we got the two goals and that really settled us down."
The Munster champions present a formidable challenge to Tyrone's hopes of reaching an All-Ireland final, but Donnelly feels a hard-fought Ulster decider will sharpen their competitive edge.
"We knew after the Fermanagh game that we had got it easy, and we would get it a lot tougher against Donegal.
"We knew it would be a tough battle against Donegal, and Cork is going to be even harder."But we wouldn't be scared of any team.
"We're really looking forward to it. Obviously it's going to be a really hard game, so we're just going to have to work hard and prepare for it."
Exhaustive research into the opposition's strengths and weaknesses has been carried out by the Red Hand management for every game to date, and that body of work is already under way in preparation for their meeting with the young Rebels.
"We reviewed Donegal and we knew they would pack their defence, so we were prepared for it."
A family atmosphere has developed between the players and management within a happy camp that exudes positivity and ambition.
Manager Gerard Donnelly and coaches Conor Gormley, Ciaran Gourley, Gary Hetherington, and Tommy Canavan have created that special bond, and there's a particularly close relationship between Donnelly and one of the backroom team members.
"We're very lucky to have those men, who have done it all in football.
"Gerard is unreal, the amount of knowledge he has on the game. The backroom team are mighty, always helping us out.
"Gary is actually my godfather, and we have a great relationship. He keeps he going and working hard.
"I always wanted to play for Tyrone, and my uncles always set out the goal for me to be a Tyrone Minor, and thankfully I have achieved it."
