After a few weeks to forget with his club, De La Salle ace John Mullane has been shortlisted for the Hurler of the Year award, with he and four of his team-mates also nominated for All Stars.
A controversial omission last year, the Waterford corner-forward is virtually guaranteed an All Star after his exploits this summer, particularly in the Munster championship, when he was superb in both games against Limerick, took the fight to Tipp in the provincial decider defeat, and then scored the winning point in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway.
Along with Mullane – whose rivals for the ‘HOTY’ accolade are bookies’ favourite Tommy Walsh of Kilkenny and Tipp attacker Lar Corbett – the other Waterford All Star nominees are: Ardmore’s ultra-reliable goalkeeper Clinton Hennessy; Passage corner-back Noel Connors (one of 14 first-time nominees after an impressive debut senior season); evergreen three-time All Star and former hurler of the year Tony Browne of Mount Sion; and brilliant Stradbally No6 Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, who was selected at midfield in the 2007 ‘best of’.
McCarthy Cup finalists Tipperary have 12 players in the running, one more than four-in-a-row champions Kilkenny, with Henry Shefflin odds-on to be honoured for a record 11th time at the Vodafone GAA Awards banquet in Dublin on October 16th.
