WE’RE FINALLY GETTING down to the business end of the hurling season.
Provincial championships have been won, qualifiers have concluded, and all the attention is now focused on Semple Stadium this weekend for the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
It’s a little early to start predicting All-Stars or Players of the Year, but we have decided to take a look at some of the individuals who could stake a claim for Hurler of the Year if the accolades were handed out now.
Obviously, those end-of-season awards will be won and lost in the next two months, and in many ways, performances up to now will count for little when they are eventually handed out.
But on the basis of what we’ve seen so far, these are the six men leading the way:
Cathal Barrett (Tipperary)
The Holycross-Ballycahill man doesn’t make too many headlines but his performances so far this year have made him, arguably, Tipperary’s best player on the pitch.
Tasked with the unattractive job of keeping opposition forward lines quiet, Barrett has done so impressively, rarely putting a sliotar wrong.
Tipperary have only conceded one goal in this year’s championship and the 22-year-old played a huge role in that incredible feat, marking and muzzling some of the most potent goal scorers in the country.
A man-of-the-match performance in the Munster semi-final against Limerick, where his side were reduced to 14 men, earned him a nomination for June Player of the Month and with Tipperary in scintillating form at the moment, the 2014 Young Hurler of the Year could be adding more accolades to his collection later in the summer.
Jonjo Farrell (Kilkenny)
Kilkenny have played only two games in this year’s championship but that hasn’t stopped Thomastown’s Farrell from emerging as a prominent cog in the Cody wheel.
The absence of players like Richie Power and Ger Aylward provided the likes of Farrell with an opportunity to capitalize on others’ misfortune.
The 27-year-old didn’t think twice about the opportunity and notched 1-5 from play against Dublin in their first game of the campaign.
Farrell followed up that phenomenal performance with another against Galway in the Leinster final. The forward scored 1-4 from play helping Kilkenny on their way to, once again, lift the Bob O’Keeffe Cup.
Austin Gleeson (Waterford)
The master of sideline cuts has been a prominent force for the Déise for a while now, despite only turning 21 recently.
The versatility of the Mount Sion clubman, with an ability to play in the majority of positions on the pitch, is what makes him a cut above the rest on the field.
Named June Player of the Month, Gleeson was key in Waterford’s success over Clare as he displayed just how difficult he is to mark. No other player in the country can switch as seamlessly from the full-forward line to the half-back line as effectively as the student can.
Shutting down Gleeson’s influence on the game will be key for any team hoping to end Waterford’s summer — but that task will be a monumental challenge.
Brendan Maher (Tipperary)
Maher’s midfield partner Michael Breen may receive a lot of the plaudits for his daring runs up the field, but it is the Borris-Ileigh clubman that gives Breen the license to push up and score.
The Tipperary captain has come into his own during the Munster championship, acting as the fulcrum in an unforgiving Tipperary structure in midfield, his most natural position.
His physical presence in the middle of the pitch is a daunting imposition for any opposition. This was never more evident than in the Munster semi-final when John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer’s sending off reduced Tipperary to 14 men.
The 27-year-old reacted with physical prowess, driving his county onto the Munster final. A man-of-the-match performance in the final assured him of his place on this list.
Tony Kelly (Clare)
The Ronaldinho of hurling seems to be getting himself back to his very best as he attempts to reaffirm himself as Henry’s true heir as King of the craft.
Kelly has displayed many flashes of brilliance already this year, reminding us of his exploits from the 2013 campaign.
He hasn’t been noted for sparks of incredible skill alone as his consistency has been impeccable. Ten points in a hammering against Laois was quickly followed up by a further nine points against Munster rivals Limerick, helping Clare on their way back to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
A hiccup against Waterford has been well-forgotten by now and the Ballyea man has a whiff of blood in his nostrils. Opponents beware.
Conor Fogarty (Kilkenny)
The 26-year-old has been pivotal to Kilkenny’s success up to now and looks set to play a determining role in the middle third of the pitch as the season progresses.
His roaming nature in the middle of the field is akin to a brick wall across the pitch. He gathers any floating or loose balls around the area and is well capable of picking out his target from distance too.
He faced stiff competition from 2014 Hurler of the Year Richie Hogan in a battle for the Leinster final man-of-the-match award but three impressive points and a relentless effort to set up a Jonjo Farrell goal landed him the honour.
His competitiveness in challenging and tussling for every sliotar in his area is worthy alone of a nomination for Hurler of the Year at this stage of the championship.
Disagree with our shortlist? Who has stood out from you in the championship so far? Let us know in the comments section >
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Oh well that is okay then.
@Gillian Scully: They were proved innocent, what about Western Athletes on TUE’s from Wada?
@Alois Irlmaier: not proved innocent, just not proved guilty. Big difference.
Is the wording relevant? They found that they hadn’t benefited from it, does that mean they didn’t do it at all or they did it and failed?
Have lost interest in Olympic sport a long time ago. Don’t trust anything I see.
Great news !
Life bans are ridiculous they are hard to maintain in real courts of law, CAS/DRA once sports rulings impinge on natural justice they are in trouble. Blanket bans are politically motivated decisions, athletes are entitled to serve a time ban. Not that it means anything any way look at the persecution of the Munster Rugby player – crazy
Lee Evans said it best. Just let them all take drugs. Do the bobsled event by running down the track in about 4.5 seconds. I’d watch That!
@David O’Brien: yep . Just have 2 seperate events juiced vs clean and have a big event after to see if clean can beat juiced naturally.
@David O’Brien: They are as they are called TUE’s once that country pays a wad of cash to the right organisation, which Russia hasn’t.
Not sufficient evidence?? The head of the lab said there overwhelming amount. Of doping lol
@Chris Finn: Is that the same head who got US citizenship for saying that the Russian athletes took drugs and was set up in his own lab in the US. Why give him his own lab??? The same man who told athletes to drink the steroids in Martinis, that was funny as steroids are injected not mixed in alcohol that can change the steroid chemically. As well as sticking bottles in and out of holes in a wall where there was never any evidence of holes in the wall… But who cares about facts… They are Russian so they must have done something bad because the US tells us what to believe…
IOC in my view trying to save face, if Russia doesn’t play by U.S. political rules dictated by their own business lobbyists the U.S. will turn the West against Russia. The US has turned the Olympics into a political battle field while Western Athletes continue with their TUE’s where asthmatics are being used to win gold medals for countries over healthy athletes. The corruption in my view just blows my mind…