GAA: Weekend hotlist

GAA fans were this weekend treated to a feast of football and hurling with no less than five games taking place.

On Saturday afternoon we saw Tyrone and Dublin flex their muscles and ease through to the All-Ireland semi-finals defeating Monaghan and Armagh respectively.

Tyrone are going from strength to strength as each week of the summer passes and silenced more of the doubters on Saturday evening with a very impressive victory over their close neighbours Armagh.

David Mulgrew and Peter led the scoring for Mickey Harte's men as they showed the gulf in class between Division 1 and Division 3.

Tyrone made a blistering start to the game and were five points to the good after just 13 minutes. With a combination of counter-attacking football, black cards and clinical finishing, the Red Hand were soon out of sight and in the end beat Armagh by 18 points.

Anyone hoping for a closer game at 7pm were left disappointed as Dublin flexed their muscles straight from the throw in to defeat Monaghan by 10 points and advance to a semi-final meeting with Tyrone. Dean Rock helped himself to 1-08 with the boys in blue never really getting out of third gear for the duration of the game and arguably are still without a proper test as we head into the second week of August.

The other remaining football game saw Mayo demolish their near rivals Roscommon on a score line of 4-19 to 0-9 with Mayo contesting their seventh game on the bounce and showing serious signs of improvement as we edge ever closer to September. Keith Higgins, Andy Moran, Cillian O'Connor and Aidan O'Shea helped themselves to goals on the day with Aidan O'Shea also earning himself another man of the match award for the mantelpiece in what was a very impressive performance from the Breaffy man. O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor once again proved how important they are to this team's progress and also towards their All - Ireland ambitions.

In the game of the weekend and possibly the game of the championship so far, Joe Canning was the toast of the west with a personal tally of 11 points helping Galway narrowly edge past Tipperary in a pulsating game at Croke Park. These teams are becoming very familiar with each other at this stage having met each other at the exact same stage over the last three years with Galway now getting the better of Tipperary by two games to one and advancing to an All-Ireland final on the first week of September where they will face the winners of Waterford or Cork.

There have been plenty of top class performances from teams and individuals over the weekend from Croke Park to Semple Stadium and it's now time to see who has made it onto our Sky Sports hotlist for this week.

Joe Canning

Big players create big moments and what a moment it was. A last-gasp point from Joe Canning with the final puck of the game to secure a place in the All-Ireland final and a crucial win for Galway in terms of progress and in their quest for Liam McCarthy. Even more impressive was Canning's calmness and modesty at the end of the game, taking it all in his stride and saying he was 'lucky' in his post match interview. He finished the day with 11 points and showed the leadership and guidance that teams badly need in tight games like this to get them over the line and to lift the players around him also.

Dublin Camogie

On Saturday evening in Semple Stadium the Dublin Senior Camogie team earned themselves a historic result and also a place in the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 1990. They travelled down to Thurles as underdogs against Wexford but came back to the capital with a well deserved and hard fought seven point victory and a Croke Park date to look forward to in a few weeks time. Despite Wexford taking an early three-point lead, Dublin then took control of the game and never looked back. A crucial penalty save from player-of-the-match Faye McCarthy and some spectacular stops in the second half inspired the entire team to a fantastic team performance and a very impressive win on Saturday evening. This win will give them huge confidence heading into the semi final and with performances like this they have nothing to fear.

Stephen Cluxton

On Saturday evening in front of a packed Croke Park, Stephen Cluxton made his record-breaking 89th Championship appearance and the reception and reaction he got from everyone in the stadium was fully deserved as he sets his sights on another All-Ireland medal in September. So often over the last number of years, Cluxton has earned man-of-the-match awards in games where his spectacular saves have inspired the players and fans around him towards another historic win for Dublin. As well as being one of the best shot stoppers to ever play the game, he is as accurate and as calm at the other end of the field most notably with his historic kick to win the All - Ireland final for Dublin against Kerry in 2011. A true great of the game and fully deserving of being the man to set the record for most ever Championship appearances.