Every single member of The Sunday Game panel nominated Galway’s Padraic Mannion as their Hurler of the Year.
But when you consider that Gearóid McInerney was the common consensus from the experts’ panel the year previous, only for Joe Canning to win the award, it goes to show that the lads’ opinions aren’t always gospel.
Former Laois senior hurling manager Seamus Plunkett certainly doesn’t think so. Cheddar was speaking on the final GAA Hour Hurling Show of the year on Thursday afternoon, when alongside Wooly and Dublin hurler Liam Rushe, he delivered his opinions on the Hurler of the Year debate.
“I’m not so sure about Padraic Mannion to be honest with you,” began Plunkett.
Cheddar argues that while Mannion is a stylish hurler who comes out with an awful lot of ball for the Tribesmen, that he at times struggled with his marking duties.
He also feels that with the Limerick half forward line dropping very deep in the final, Mannion had ample opportunity to turn this game for Galway, but didn’t take it.
“He’s talked up a lot but he had to be taken off of TJ Reid in the replay below in Thurles, when TJ went wing forward,” he said.
“And I think in the All-Ireland final when Galway really needed someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, he had the chance to do that because he was on his own for a good bit of it, but he didn’t do it.
“So I don’t know why he’s talked up so much,” he concluded.
Liam Rushe leapt to Mannion’s defence, but still doesn’t feel he was the best hurler in the country this year.
“I think a lot of the hype about Mannion is that he’s very good coming out with the ball,” said Liam Rushe.
“You said he struggled on TJ Reid, I wouldn’t have him down as a man-on-man defender. They need him coming out with the ball,” said the Dublin man.
Perhaps the fact that the majority of The Sunday Game panel was composed of former defenders, in Jackie Tyrrell, Anthony Daly, Ken McGrath and Donal O’Grady, helps to explain their choice of Mannion.
Colm Parkinson felt that Joe Canning deserves the award for a second year in a row.
“I think nobody outside of Joe Canning deserves the Hurler of the Year…Mannion has been talked up ahead of Canning, which is bizarre to me,” said Colm Parkinson.
Plunkett agrees, though he has one criticism of Canning’s game.
“I think you can’t look past Joe Canning. Galway were on the back foot on so many occasions, but the man who pulled them out of it was Joe Canning.
“I’d have a little criticism about Joe this year and last year that he relies a lot on free ball. He doesn’t win enough contested ball considering his ability and that, and put himself about the team a little bit more and that. But when Galway were under serious pressure in games, he was the one player who grabbed his team and tried to win a championship for them,” said Cheddar.
So there’s some consolation for Canning on the back of last Sunday’s defeat, that he’s the GAA Hour Hurler of the year. Other players to receive honourable mentions in the debate were John Conlon, Patrick Horgan and TJ Reid.
You can listen to this year’s last episode of The GAA Hour Hurling Show right here.
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