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GAA

06th Aug 2017

Vote for your performance of the weekend

Have your say here, the poll is water-tight!

Niall McIntyre

So the weekend’s football action may not have been as competitive as we would have hoped, but there were some individual performances of pure and utter class.

Up to this weekend, some of the new teams on the block – the Armaghs, the Monaghans were making progress, but they were well and truly cut down to size by a rampant Tyrone, and a typically business-like Dublin.

We now know three of our four All-Ireland semi-finalists, and you wouldn’t have had too many predicting otherwise at the start of the year.

Kerry, Tyrone and Dublin are the big three of the football landscape, and we will find out on Monday the fourth member of this elite group.

Throughout four action-packed games at GAA HQ, four men stood out and have been nominated as the AIB Performance of the Weekend.

Peter Harte (Tyrone) 

Where do you start with Peter Harte?

We really are privileged to get to watch this man play football. Peter Harte may begin his days for Tyrone as a half-back, but if you hadn’t seen a pre-match programme, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was playing in every position on the pitch.

Harte attacks like no half-back we have ever seen before, and Armagh just couldn’t cope with this gusto and flair on Saturday.

He was at his brilliant best on Sunday, notching a cool 1-02, including one of the calmest penalties we have seen in quite a while.

You would think that Harte’s attacking flair might lead to some vulnerabilities at the back – no chance.

He’s the life and soul of this Tyrone side and he ripped exactly that out of Armagh. Uncle Mickey will be hoping he can do the same against Dublin in their semi-final clash.

Paul Mannion (Dublin)

It was all too easy for Jim Gavin’s men against Monaghan on Saturday, and Paul Mannion had that figured out from the first minute of the game.

The Kilmacud Crokes club man raised the first of his three white flags after just 28 seconds of play, and he was starting as he meant to go on.

The lightening 24-year-old terrorised the Monaghan defence with the swagger and electrifying pace that we have come accustomed to from him, and he really is a key cog in Jim Gavin’s well oiled machine now.

Ryan Wylie found out all about Mannion’s prowess on Saturday evening, and so did the football world.

David Mulgrew (Tyrone)

The Tyrone youngster would have been forgiven for feeling disappointed about not getting the start against Armagh, but this man doesn’t feel sorry for himself.

The  Ardboe man got an opportunity to impress as a second-half substitute and he took it with both hands.

He was called into the action by Mickey Harte after 43 minutes of play and he exploded into the action with two swashbuckling goals.

Mulgrew’s movement to create these opportunnities for himself really was a sight to behold, and his electrifying pace and ice-cool finishing will have Mickey Harte reluctant to leave him out of the team again.

Mulgrew  is lively, he is exuberent, he has no inhibitions, and he is the fulcrum around which the future of Tyrone will revolve.

Mattie Donnelly (Tyrone)

Donnelly gave an exhibition on how to play the midfield role against Armagh.

The energetic midfielder was strode over the hollowed turf of Croke Park on Saturday with a grace and confidence that will be hard-matched by any others.

His statistics from the game speak for themselves.

Passes: 51
Assists: 0-3
Scored: 
0-1
Kickouts won: 3
Tackles: 4
Interceptions: 1
Blocks: 1
Take-ons: 5

The Tyrone man lost the ball one time and he misplaced just the one pass.

The Orchard county couldn’t get a hand on him, and Jim Gavin will have to plan for this man in the semi-final.

So get your votes in and the poll will be discussed on Monday afternoon’s GAA Hour.

 

LISTEN: The GAA Hour – Klopp in Croker, flop in Kildare and the ‘worst fans’ award?

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AIB GAA