Aaron Kernan’s mind may be on golfing matters right now but tomorrow he will be totally focused on trying to bring Armagh over their first hurdle on what he hopes will prove a smooth course through the All Ireland football qualifiers.

Kernan, one of the driving forces behind today’s Crossmaglen Rangers Golf Classic at Mannan Castle, is hoping that the orchard county can card an impressive score against their border neighbours tomorrow at Clones (7pm) — and that’s whether or not Tommy Freeman is included in the Monaghan line-up.

Freeman engages in a last throw of the disciplinary appeals process dice tonight when he takes his plea to the powerful Disputes Resolution Authority to have the eight-week ban imposed after his part in the incidents that marred the recent Derry v Monaghan tie rescinded.

The Central Hearings Committee and Central Appeals Committee have already turned down his appeals, leaving the DRA as Freeman’s sole hope of salvation.

But while Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney, his players and the fans await the outcome of tonight’s proceedings with considerable anxiety, Armagh are preoccupied with their own worries.

Charlie Vernon has just recovered from a badly broken jaw, David McKenna is still suffering from tendonitis, Stephen Kernan is out of the frame because of a knee problem and Martin O’Rourke has been carrying a minor knock.

Yet Aaron Kernan and the rest of Armagh’s more senior players are gearing up to give a lead to the young guns in Peter McDonnell’s side.

“We are all taking a bit more responsibility now and we will certainly need to show this against a Monaghan team who appear to have been hurting badly since their defeat by Derry.

“They will want to prove themselves in front of their own supporters,” insists wing-back Kernan.

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney, although desperately keen to have the normally free-scoring Freeman in his side, is nonetheless convinced that he will still have sufficient experience, skill and power at his disposal to cope with Armagh’s challenge.

He may have been talking up the opposition of late but McEnaney will surely feel that in Dessie Mone, Gary McQuaid, Eoin Lennon, Dick Clerkin, Paul Finlay, Rory Woods and Stephen Gollogly he has players well capable of dealing with Armagh’s physicality, energy and craft.

In each of the past two years Monaghan have fallen to Kerry in the All Ireland series — and not by much either.

They may have surrendered some of their pride and indeed credibility in that fractious setback against Derry in the Ulster Championship but the qualifier route has afforded the Farney outfit a generous measure of comfort, if not outright success, of late.

Now their big aim is to go the full distance starting with a win tomorrow night.