GAA.ie Player of the Week Nominations: Now its time to run through the nominations for the individual award. See below. Cast your vote at @officialgaa on Twitter. Vote on Twitter by retweeting an image of your chosen player, and on Facebook by liking an image of your chosen player. Voting closes at 10am on Tuesday, August 12. GAA.IE HURLING PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEES: Séamus Hickey (Limerick) Watching Hickeys acceptance speech after winning the Man of the Match award on the Sunday Game was tough going. Nobody had given more of themselves in Sundays All-Ireland semi-final and nobody was more tormented at the final whistle. Hickey spoke of Limericks need for redemption after last years devastating All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Clare, but his torment was accentuated by the realisation that neither he nor his team-mates could have given any more against Kilkenny and that they had gained a moral victory of sorts. After wrecking his cruciate against Clare last year, Hickey played like he was on a personal crusade, marking TJ Reid out of the game with a performance of rare class in the Limerick defence. He caught ball after ball and marked Reid so tightly, not only did his man only register one score from play, he was clearly also unnerved when it came to hitting placed balls. Hickey is surely in pole position for an All Star at corner back. Declan Hannon (Limerick) If Limericks motivation on Sunday was one of redemption, then no player redeemed their reputation more than Declan Hannon. Hannon had a bad day out against Clare in Croke Park last August, but he put that nightmare behind him in the rain on Sunday and showed incredible character to lead the Limerick attack. With Shane Dowling in charge of free-taking duties, Hannons confidence has returned, and he hit five superb points on a day when striking was made all but impossible by the incessant rain. His and Limericks last score was a thing of real beauty, and its just a pity that Limerick couldnt clone the Adare man given their clear lack of one more top class forward to turn them into a team capable of ending their All-Ireland drought. Jackie Tyrrell (Kilkenny) Outplayed for long parts of the game, Kilkenny were always going to have to dig very deep to eke out any sort of a win against Limerick. The weather turned the game into a lottery and the rain probably suited Limerick that little bit more given the subtle tactical changes the Cats have adopted this year. In the end, Kilkennys two goals proved the difference, but it was Kilkennys defensive prowess, and the fact that they never really looked like conceding a major - despite some lapses from goalkeeper David Herity - that won the day for them. The Cats defended like dogs, particularly towards the end when Limerick went in search of goals, and no man stood taller in their hour of need than Jackie Tyrrell. After a brief experiment at centre-back, Tyrrell has thrived since he has been put back into the corner, and he defended like his life depended on it in Croke Park, all the while using the ball cleverly when he got it, looking up and finding a team-mate with a hand pass or a short stick pass. Aged 32 now, Tyrrells ability to beat younger and faster opponents and to adapt to new questions asked of him continues to astound.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:57:49 +0000
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