12 DUBLIN PLAYERS have been nominated for the 2013 GAA/GPA Allstar football awards.
Jim Gavin’s All-Ireland title winning side lead the way on the nominations list for the Opel-sponsored awards.
Beaten All-Ireland finalists Mayo have ten nominations and Ulster champions Monaghan have six nominees. All-Ireland semi-finalists Kerry and Tyrone have five and four nominations respectively.
Cavan are rewarded for their memorable run through the qualifiers with three nominations while Cork, London, Galway, Meath and Donegal all have one nomination each.
The Footballer of the Year award will be contested by Stephen Cluxton, Michael Darragh Macauley and Lee Keegan. While the Young Footballer of the Year award will be a battle between Dublin duo Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion, and Mayo’s Cillian O’Connor.
There are only five members of last year’s Allstar selection nominated on this occasion – Mayo trio Keith Higgins, Lee Keegan and Ger Cafferkey, Donegal’s Colm McFadden and Dublin’s Paul Flynn.
Dublin’s Stephen Cluxton
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
While the other players in the nominations list that have won Allstars are Cluxton, Macauley, Bernard Brogan, Conor Gormley, Sean Cavanagh, Marc O Sé and Colm Cooper.
Interesting inclusions on the list include former Cavan player Lorcan Mulvey who is the first London player ever to be nominated for an Allstar and former Antrim player James Loughrey who is now in action for Cork.
The nominations list in full is:
Goalkeepers: Stephen Cluxton (Dublin), Rob Hennelly (Mayo), Rory Beggan (Monaghan).
Full-backs: Rory O’Carroll (Dublin), Colin Walshe (Monaghan), Keith Higgins (Mayo), Chris Barrett (Mayo), Ger Cafferkey (Mayo), Drew Wylie (Monaghan), Cathal McCarron (Tyrone), Killian Clarke (Cavan), Marc O Se (Kerry).
Half-backs: Colm Boyle (Mayo), Conor Gormley (Tyrone), Lee Keegan (Mayo), Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin), Donal Vaughan (Mayo), James McCarthy (Dublin), Jack McCaffrey (Dublin), Dessie Mone (Monaghan), James Loughrey (Cork).
Midfield: Michael Darragh Macauley (Dublin), Aidan O’Shea (Mayo), Seamus O’Shea (Mayo), Darren Hughes (Monaghan), Anthony Maher (Kerry), Paul Conroy (Galway).
Half-forwards: Sean Cavanagh (Tyrone), Colm Cooper (Kerry), Cian Mackey (Cavan), Paul Flynn (Dublin), Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin), Donnchadh Walsh (Kerry), Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin), Matthew Donnelly (Tyrone), Lorcan Mulvey (London).
Full-forwards: Bernard Brogan (Dublin), James O’Donoghue (Kerry), Martin Dunne (Cavan), Paul Mannion (Dublin), Conor McManus (Monaghan), Cillian O’Connor (Mayo), Mickey Newman (Meath), Paddy Andrews (Dublin), Colm McFadden (Donegal).
Lions need to fight fire with fire and deploy their own 6/2 bombsquad, add power to the midfield with Aki, and add flair to the back 3.
1. Vunipola
2. Cowan Dickie
3. Furlong
4. Itoje
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Beirne
7. Curry
8. Faletau
9. Murray
10. Farrell
11. Rees Zammit
12. Aki
13. Henshaw
14. Adams
15. Williams
16. Wyn Jones 17. Owens 18. Sinckler 19. Lawes 20. Henderson 21. Conan 22. Price 23. Daly
(Team given Wyn Jones is fit and Sinckler isn’t banned)
@Bruce Lee: lions need to keep the ball in Play, speed up their attack, stop boxkick and stop running straight into an organised defence that’s ready and waiting to smash them again see speed up attack.
@Chris Mc:
I think you are asking them to play rugby…. Which is a good idea…
I think Aki in back line could actually allow them to trust getting the ball to 13 and outside channels.
If you don’t get these SA running they will beat you in the arm wrestle
@Bruce Lee: Murray and Farrell will not cut it. Speed and creativity are required. That’s Price and Russell.
@Cowboy Paddy: as silly as that sounds yes to beat SA just play rugby. Measuring willies trying to smash through a SA organised defence is daft. Run, pass and take on soft shoulders with the odd offload, grubber past them and keep the pace of the game at an uncomfortable level for them.
@Bruce Lee: need to change number 1 and 2 jack done nothing wrong id also have henderson in ashead off the captain but that will never happen = WG
@Bruce Lee: AWJ shouldn’t even be on the bench, Farrell has had his chance, would start with Russell, Hamish deserves a shot too. Bundy against DA would be great. Surprised he hasn’t featured given its the king of ‘bish bosh’ who’s calling the shots.