Club hurling team of The year - the shortlist in full
COUNTDOWN CONTINUES TO THE CAIRDE LOCH With 75 players in with a chance of gain Ning a place, we look back on their summer contributions
WE CAST an eye over the football club team of the year nominees last week, and now it’s time for the 75 names on the hurling shortlist to come under closer scrutiny.
GOALKEEPER
MARK FANNING (Glynn-Barntown): Made three top-class saves and converted three long-range frees against St. Anne’s, before netting from a penalty versus Rathnure. Assured in the dethroning of St. Martin’s, and made one good semi-final save from Seán Keane-Carroll in the exit to Shelmaliers. One of 14 dual nominees.
DERMOT FLYNN (Rathnure): A good achievement to feature, given that his club didn’t qualify so he only managed two games. Conceded one goal apiece against St. Anne’s and Glynn-Barntown respectively, making one fine stop from Rowan White in the latter tie.
DARRAGH HAYES (Oulart-The Ballagh): Settled into a sound first Senior year after a tough baptism when five goals were conceded against St. Martin’s. Only beaten once per match after that, against Cloughbawn, St. Anne’s and Naomh Eanna respectively. Saved a Mark Furlong penalty in the quarter-final.
OLIVER O’LEARY (Buffers Alley): Made a couple of important saves in the quarter-final against Askamore to deny Shane Tomkins and Podge Byrne, and then kept out Donie Barron in the semi-final versus St. James’. Conceded nine goals in five games.
NOEL SCALLAN (Crossabeg-Ballymurn): Only beaten twice across five matches – by Daire Bolger of Rathgarogue-Cushinstown in round one, and by HWH-Bunclody’s Mylie Connors in the semi-final. One of his booming puck-outs set up Ronan Devereux’s goal in the decider, having done the same for Oisín Foley’s quarter-final net-buster.
RIGHT FULL-BACK
ROBBIE BARRON (St. James’): The second of 14 players nominated for both teams, and deservedly so. Exceptional in the second-half during the loss to Oylegate-Glenbrien, and outstanding again when Taghmon-Camross were beaten in the quarter-final. Scored two points, and the only quibble is that he started three of his four games on the right wing, not in the corner.
CORMAC BYRNE (Faythe Harriers): His quiet efficiency earns him one of three nominations for the Harriers, along with Lee Chin and Conall Clancy. His team didn’t concede any goals across three matches, with much of the credit going to Byrne who stuck to Paul Morris like glue against Ferns St. Aidan’s.
GER DEMPSEY (Glynn-Barntown): One of the stand-out defenders in his team’s do-or-die group game win over Rathnure, and equally effective when holders St. Martin’s were dumped by six points in the quarter-final. Making a name for himself at the opposite end of the field to Tom, his All-Ireland winning father.
SIMON DONOHOE (Shelmaliers): The third ‘dual jewel’ on the shortlist, and the first representative of hurling champions Shelmaliers. Reverted to the full-back line after starting the first two games on the left wing. His sweeping around his own goal was a vital commodity in the team’s success.
PETER TRAVERS (Naomh Eanna): ‘Pedro’ has been dealing quietly and calmly with some of the best attackers in Wexford for quite a while now. Was seen at his defiant best in the final when he was one of the few Gorey players to give a good account of themselves.
FULL-BACK
AIDAN CASH (Shelmaliers): Formed a solid brick wall directly in front of Brian Murphy over a five-game campaign where his understanding with the Donohoe brothers, Simon and Jody, was telling. Restricting Conor McDonald to just one point – and that coming as early as the third minute – summed up the quality of his performance in the final.
COLM FARRELL (HWH-Bunclody): His excellence against Askamore was a reminder of why he played with Leinster in the past. Outstanding in that epic semi-final against Crossabeg-Ballymurn, only lost by his team by two points after extra-time.
CONOR GOFF (Oulart-The Ballagh): Enhanced his reputation in the narrow semi-final defeat to Naomh Eanna, doing as well as anyone could be expected to on a player of Conor McDonald’s calibre. Started at centre-back against St. Martin’s, but prospered from his move to the edge of the square.
CIARAN KENNY (Buffers Alley): I’ll remind you of Tom Dempsey’s comments made after the county final loss in relation to his clubmate: ‘Age is no barrier, with the quality of his performances never dipping and his application never waning. He is a truly great hurler who epitomises everything that is good about the game.’ I couldn’t agree more!
BRENDAN TRAVERS (Naomh Eanna): The ‘captain leading by example’ is surely the oldest cliché in the sporting books, but it was entirely appropriate when describing the Gorey leader’s display on county final day. Although his team shipped a heavy loss, he was truly excellent.
LEFT FULL-BACK EOIN CONROY (Naomh Eanna):
His versatility saw him alternate between the corner and the wing, and he contributed a point from play in the quarter-final win against Ferns St. Aidan’s. The shortlisting of three Gorey men in the full-back is a true reflection of their strongest sector in 2020.
JODY DONOHOE (Shelmaliers): The fourth man in with a chance of both football and hurling selection. Scored a point from midfield against Rapparees and a brace apiece in all three knockout ties versus Faythe Harriers, Glynn-Barntown and Naomh Eanna after bombing forward at every opportunity from his posting in defence.
EOIN MOORE (Oulart-The Ballagh): Getting the blend right was always going to be tricky for manager Liam Dunne as he introduced several new faces. Moving Moore to the full-back line, after his first outing in attack against St. Martin’s, went a long way towards securing a somewhat unexpected semi-final spot.
JOE O’CONNOR (St. Martin’s): In a year when he nailed down a regular starting spot with Wexford, he also provided one of the few bright aspects to his team’s tame title defence. The full-back played a key role in the clean sheets kept against Cloughbawn and during the exit to Glynn-Barntown, and is number five to feature on both lists.
KEVIN ROCHE (Buffers Alley): Small in stature but tough in the tackle, he hit an important long-range point against Monageer-Boolavogue and excelled when blotting out county Under-20 attacker James Byrne versus Askamore.
RIGHT HALF-BACK
PADDY DEVEREUX (Crossabeg-Ballymurn):
Scored a point apiece in the quarter-final and final against Oylegate-Glenbrien and Buffers Alley respectively. Along with his brothers, Ronan and Conor, typified the spirit that drove their club back to Senior ranks for the first time since 2000.
SEAN KENNY (HWH-Bunclody): With his plans to head down under disrupted by Covid-19, Australia’s loss was definitely HWH-Bunclody’s gain.
Unavailable for the first game against Ballyg he shone on his return when Aidan Nolan m the Askamore match. Scored two points a Monageer-Boolavogue, and another brace Crossabeg-Ballymurn, all from play.
GLEN MALONE (Shelmaliers): The sixt nominee, we all knew what he was capabl football, but 2020 was truly his ‘break-out’ h year. His athleticism was a huge help to the and he chipped in with points in both the sem and final.
JUSTIN MORAN (St. Anne’s): A lot of pinned high hopes on the 2019-winning L Minors, and Moran came up trumps for St. A earning a young player of the year nominatio Impressed on a decent opponent in Shane versus Rathnure, and will learn from a chas quarter-final loss to Oulart-The Ballagh.
ANTHONY ROCHE (Oulart-The Ballagh defence looked open and vulnerable in the firs against St. Martin’s, but Roche and company down after a few positional tweaks. He fully his part on the wing.
CENTRE HALF-BACK AARON CRAIG (St. Anne’s):
The West man carried on the very good form that he dis in the county final loss of 2019. A comma presence, especially against Glynn-Barntow had a busy year as he continued to assist his