Senior A Hurling: Player of the Year picks for all 12 clubs
Na Piarsaigh's Ross O'Sullivan was very impressive this season. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
After an entertaining season in the Senior A HC, who were the best players for each club?
There were some teams hugely impressive throughout the year, while others weren’t. Still, it only seems fair to acknowledge those players who did stand out.
While Ballyhea’s season turned out to be far from what they would have hoped for – the knockout stages weren’t too far away. That was largely thanks to Hickey and his accuracy throughout the round-robin phases.
Blarney are one of those teams where there are a few different options given the spread of quality in the side, but I’ve gone with Cathal. The forward scored 2-2 between the semi-final and final, while also being a consistent scoring threat throughout the group stages.
O’Connell was outstanding for Rovers, but again one of many great performers. I could have just as easily picked Denis Cashman or Adam Walsh. O’Connell gets it for his consistent presence in front of the posts, and impact off the ball.
The obvious choice would be Sean Walsh, but I think Murnane had an excellent season. The wing-back packs power, and his long-range scoring is reflective of that. A handful for forwards – and defenders.
It feels like an easy cop-out after the year Castlelyons had, but Niall O’Leary was outstanding again. His position off the ball made a huge difference – let alone when you’ve got a player with his distribution.
Dominant as a sweeper.
While the east Cork side had a tough time overall – Walsh remained one of their more prominent scoring threats and made a decent contribution this season.
While the majority of his scoring was done from placed balls, 34 points in three games is quite the return. While Sean Twomey was also excellent, it’s hard to argue given how influential Sweetnam’s accuracy was for Courceys.
Had Brian O’Sullivan featured more he would have been the obvious choice, but I feel Brennan deserves it. A couple of decent performances that went relatively unnoticed, but he had a solid campaign.
It couldn’t be anyone else.
Stephen Lynam and Simon Kennefick were up there, so too were Eoin and Rob Downey. But Brosnan was exceptional.
Not only did he finish with 0-19 from play in just five games, but he put in several incredible shifts off the ball too.
Despite working in the half-back line, Enright finished as Inniscarra’s top scorer across the three games. Certainly, injuries played their part, but Enright was fantastic.
He’s improved a lot this year – but the versatile McCarthy was phenomenal for Killeagh. Able to get himself into the right positions consistently, he finished with three goals in four games. A handy return for the wing-forward, who will be key to Killeagh’s cause again next year.
Easily Na Piarsaigh’s most electrifying player – there's never a dull moment watching O’Sullivan, who was a constant scoring threat throughout.
He finished with 2-9, showing he will be a key player in the years to come for the northsiders.
App?
