TWO of the stars of Derry’s Ulster U21 Hurling Championship success are in the running for the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year after the nominations were revealed yesterday.
Captain Ciaran Steele is nominated for the centre half-back position, while Slaughtneil hotshot Cormac O’Doherty is a contender for one of the three full-forward spots.
Both played major parts as the Oak Leafs shocked Antrim at the Ulster semi-final stage before defeating Down in the decider, before eventually falling foul of an impressive Kilkenny unit in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Unsurprisingly, champions Limerick lead the way with 13 of 45 nominees. Kilkenny and Galway have seven players nominated, while Waterford hold five. Cork have four, Westmeath have three, Wexford and Derry have two and one for Tipperary.
Of the five Player of the Year contenders, four come from the Treaty County, with Kilkenny’s Conor Delaney up against Kyle Hayes, Aaron Gillane, Peter Casey and Sean Finn for the prestigious award.
Seven players who were named on the 2016 Team of the Year are in contention again. Last year’s winners from Waterford - Conor Gleeson, Darragh Lyons, Shane Bennett and Patrick Curran - are all in the running to retain their places, despite bowing out to Cork in the Munster semi-final.
Galway’s Dan Nevin and Limerick’s Ronan Lynch are also in with a shot to hang onto their positions at midfield, while Westmeath’s Niall Mitchell will look to retain the left corner-forward spot.
The judging panel for the awards includes former Dublin boss Ger Cunningham, TG4’s Micheál Ó Domhnaill, Galway star Joe Canning and Waterford great Ken McGrath.
The team will be announced on Newstalk’s Off the Ball Facebook page next Monday, and the winners will be presented with their awards at a special ceremony in Croke Park the same day.
Goalkeepers: Eoghan McNamara (Limerick), Darren Brennan (Kilkenny), Sean Maher (Westmeath)
Right corner-back: Sean O’Donoghue (Cork), Sean Finn (Limerick), Declan Cronin (Galway)
Full-back: Darragh Fanning (Limerick), Conor Delaney (Kilkenny), Conor Prunty (Waterford)
Left corner-back: Dan Joy (Limerick), Sean Loftus (Galway), Darragh Lyons (Waterford)
Right half-back: Darren Browne (Cork), Jack Grealish (Galway), Ronan Lynch (Limerick)
Centre-back: Conor Gleeson (Waterford), Kyle Hayes (Limerick), Ciaran Steele (Derry)
Left half-back: Jason Cleere (Kilkenny), Thomas Grimes (Limerick), Mark Coleman (Cork)
Midfield: Ger Browne (Tipperary), Colin Ryan (Limerick), Luke Scanlon (Kilkenny), Dan Nevin (Galway), Colm Roche (Waterford), Robbie Hanley (Limerick)
Right half-forward: Brian Concannon (Galway), Aaron Gillane (Limerick), Rory O’Connor (Wexford),
Centre-forward: Declan Dalton (Cork), Killian Doyle (Westmeath), John Donnelly (Kilkenny)
Left half-forward: Ritchie Leahy (Kilkenny), Cian Lynch (Limerick), Niall Mitchell (Westmeath)
Right corner-forward: Billy Ryan (Kilkenny), Patrick Curran (Waterford), Conor Whelan (Galway)
Full-forward: Shane Bennett (Waterford), Peter Casey (Limerick), Cormac O Doherty (Derry)
Left corner-forward: Thomas Monaghan (Galway), Cathal Dunbar (Wexford), Barry Nash (Limerick)
