Nature of voting gives Lynch real chance of usurping Galway duo for top gong

PERHAPS the bookmakers demonstrate better than anyone just how competitive this year’s All-Stars hurling team will be.

Of course there will be the usual ‘sure things’ with perhaps most able to agree on anywhere between 10 and 12 of this year’s team.

However, one leading firm has priced seven defenders and seven attackers at odds-on. With just six slots up for selection in both the backs and the forwards, at least two players with real claims are set to be disappointed.

After one of the most epic summers the game has seen, there’s sure to be rancour when the teams are announced in November.

The Hurler of the Year award, which will be voted on by intercounty players, is also likely to go the wire. Joe Canning is nominated with team-mate Pádraic Mannion and Limerick’s Cian Lynch.

Canning could become the first player to retain the award after winning last year’s gong when steering Galway to a first All-Ireland title in 29 years while a Limerick man has never won the award.

However, the voting system may put the bids of Canning and Mannion at risk. Within Dublin football circles, there was a feeling that having two players nominated in the past meant the vote for their nominees was split and with only fine margins separating the players, they missed out on the biggest individual award in the game by virtue of having two nominations.

And recent history suggests it’s possible that Galway’s two nominations could go the same way.

Last year Canning beat off Waterford pair Jamie Barron and Kevin Moran to the gong while in 2016, Waterford star Austin Gleeson was given the award ahead of Tipperary duo Paudie Maher and Séamus Callanan.

For some, Canning is even more deserving of the award this year given the body of work he produced. He almost singlehandedly rescued Galway’s bid for back-to-back titles in this year’s final with his nerveless free-taking and brilliant goal into the Canal End when Galway’s challenge looked all but dead.

The Portumna man’s performances against Kilkenny in their Leinster final replay and both days against Clare were memorable.

Mannion seemed to be most people’s pick for the gong before the decider and he was the pick for Hurler of the Year by ‘The Sunday Game’ panel of experts after a brilliant summer while Lynch’s display in the All-Ireland final pushes him into the shortlist.

Kyle Hayes (Limerick), Mark Coleman and Darragh Fitzgibbon (both Cork) make up the shortlist for Young Hurler of the Year.

Hayes produced a man-of-thematch performance in the final while Coleman and Fitzgibbon claimed Munster titles at both senior and U-21 level. Séamus Flanagan misses out on the shortlist but is nominated for an All-Star.

As expected, John Kiely’s Treatymen dominate this year’s selection with all 15 of their starting team from the All-Ireland final included in the 45-strong shortlist.

It’s the first time an entire starting 15 from the final have been nominated since Tipp managed the

All 15 of Limerick’s starting team from the All-Ireland final are included

same feat in 2016.

That means there is no place for supersub Shane Dowling who made significant contributions in the semi-final comeback against Cork and in the final win over Galway.

The Tribesmen are next on the list with nine while semi-finalists Cork and Clare have seven and five nominations respectively.

A total of eight counties are represented. League champions Kilkenny have five nominations, including Eoin Murphy.

Murphy looked to have the goalkeeping award wrapped up before Nickie Quaid’s brilliance in the semi-final and final, meaning that’s a decision that will be debated long and hard.

Wexford claim two nominations while Dublin and Tipperary complete the line-up with one nomination each in Chris Crummey and Jason Forde. The awards will be announced on Friday, November 2.