Chris Óg Jones and Mark Cronin shooting Cork to the top of Division 2

Following a stunning win over Meath to go four wins from four, Cork sit alone at the top of Division 2 and find themselves poised for promotion to the top tier of the National Football League.

The next test for Cork will be Derry away. Undeniably, that will be the toughest yet for John Cleary’s side. But, with the form that they’ve shown so far this season, there’s no reason for Cork not to feel they can head up north and take something from the game.

The incredible performances of Chris Óg Jones and Mark Cronin against Meath will give Derry plenty to think about, and U20 graduate Dara Sheedy’s performance add even more to that. Cork are well equipped. And, with Jones and Cronin’s tallies posted in the win over Meath, the Cork forwards have shot up in the from-play scoring charts.

Mark Cronin now occupies third spot after amassing 1-13 from play, he only trails division leader Shane McGuigan of Derry who has 1-15 from the first five games, and Kildare’s Brian McLoughlin who has 1-14.

Tyrone’s Darragh Canavan remains fourth again this week with 0-15, while Chris Óg Jones is one of six players who are all tied for fifth with a total of 14. Jones, Derry’s Paul Cassidy and Meath’s Ruairi Kinsella all have 2-8, while Craig Lennon of Louth, Kildare’s Ben Loakman and Offaly sharpshooter Keith O’Neill each have 0-14.

Shane McGuigan also sits atop the overall scoring chart but is tied with Louth’s Sam Mulroy, as the pair have both scored 1-23 so far this season.

Steven Sherlock and Cronin share third spot in the table, Sherlock with 0-21 and Cronin climbing from sixth with 1-18.

Brian McLoughlin falls from first to fifth, his tally of 1-17 is matched by Meath’s Jordan Morris (1-17) and Keith O’Neill (0-20).

Eighth place brings another tie, with Loakman and Canavan both having notched 0-18 so far in the league, while completing the overall top ten is the last standing Cavan representative in either chart, Patrick Lynch. He has totalled 0-17 so far.

National Football League Division 2 Top 10 scorers:

1 Shane McGuigan (Derry) 1-23 (1 tp, 1 tpf, 0-6 f) 

1 Sam Mulroy (Louth) 1-23 (4 tpf, 1 tp, 0-9 f, 0-1 45) 

3 Steven Sherlock (Cork) 0-21 (3 tp, 1 tpf, 0-7 f, 0-2 45) 

3 Mark Cronin (Cork) 1-18 (2 tp, 0-4 f, 0-1 m) 

5 Brian McLoughlin (Kildare) 1-17 (2 tp, 0-3 f) 

5 Jordan Morris (Meath) 1-17 (1-0 pen, 1 tpf, 1 tp, 0-2 f) 

5 Keith O’Neill (Offaly) 0-20 (3 tp, 1 tpf, 0-4 f) 

8 Ben Loakman (Kildare) 0-18 (2 tp, 1 tpf, 0-2 f) 

8 Darragh Canavan (Tyrone) 0-18 (1 tp, 0-3 f) 

10 Patrick Lynch (Cavan) 0-17 (2 tpf, 1 tp, 0-6 f) 

National Fotball League Division 2 Top 10 scorers from play:

1 Shane McGuigan (Derry) 1-15 (1 tp) 

2 Brian McLoughlin (Kildare) 1-14 (2 tp) 

3 Mark Cronin (Cork) 1-13 (2 tp) 

4 Darragh Canavan (Tyrone) 0-15 (1 tp) 

5 Craig Lennon (Louth) 0-14 (1 tp) 

5 Ben Loakman (Kildare) 0-14 (2 tp) 

5 Keith O’Neill (Offaly) 0-14 (3 tp) 

5 Ruairi Kinsella (Meath) 2-8 (1 tp) 

5 Chris Óg Jones (Cork) 2-8 

5 Paul Cassidy (Derry) 2-8 (3 tp)