All-Dublin affair in race to be crowned Player of Year

A DUBLIN player is certain to be named Footballer of the Year.

The shortlist for PwC GAA GPA Player of the Year is made up entirely from the four-in-a-row champions, with Brian Fenton, Ciarán Kilkenny and Jack McCaffrey all on the ballot sheet which will be sent to GPA members.

It ensures that after the top player award went to Mayo pair Lee Keegan and Andy Moran in back-to-back sea-sons , the top individual gong will reside in Dublin for the first time since 2015, when McCaffrey won it.

Should the gong go to Dublin’s flying wing-back again, he would become the first two-time winner of the award since its inception in 1995.

Brian Howard could ensure that the champions make it a clean sweep after he was shortlisted for Young Player of the Year along with Kerry’s David Clifford and Tyrone defender Michael McKernan.

In total, 12 of the Dublin team have been nominated for All-Stars with Philly McMahon, John Small and Cian O’Sullivan the three missing out.

Eleven counties are included in the nominations, with Tyrone, Galway and Monaghan all receiving seven.

And, providing a boost for smaller counties, Graham Brody (Laois) and Paul Broderick (Carlow) — both of whom played Division 4 football this year — have also been included.

Just six of last year’s team — Dublin quintet Jonny Cooper, James McCarthy, Dean Rock, Con O’Callaghan and Paul Mannion and Tyrone’s Colm Cavanagh — make the shortlist.