2015 All Stars

[sid waddell]

1. Paul Durcan (Donegal)
2. Cathal McCarron (Tyrone)
3. Ronan McNamee (Tyrone)
4. Philly McMahon (Dublin)
5. Ryan McHugh (Donegal)
6. Kieran Martin (Westmeath)
7. Jack McCaffrey (Dublin)
8. Anthony Maher (Kerry)
9. Mattie Donnelly (Tyrone)
10. Diarmuid O'Connor (Mayo)
11. Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)
12. Stephen O'Brien (Kerry)
13. Conor McManus (Monaghan)
14. Paddy Andrews (Dublin)
15. Bernard Brogan (Dublin)

POTY:
1. Brogan
2. McManus
3. McCaffrey

You serious?

Name me one standout 6 in this year's championship. There is none. Weakest position of the lot. Martin may not have played at 6 most of the time but deserves an All-Star more than anybody else who has played in that jersey.

Martin never played centre-back in any of the games I saw him in.

Should have watched a bit closer, then. He played centre back in the first half against Meath before moving up.

As I said there is no standout 6. Cian O'Sullivan has been the best conventional 6 but Martin deserves an All-Star more.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Connolly's performances in both semis have scuppered it. In Keegan's pocket for 140 minutes.

I think that's ott harsh.
You could also say that Connolly severely limited the influence of the best half back in the country for 140 minutes.
Having watched the replay again, Connolly did a trojan amount of work and got on the ball more than I thought. He made a really crucial tackle on Keith Higgins immediately after the second goal, when Higgins had made his way into the Dubs penalty box. No doubt he was very well marshalled by Mayo, anytime he had the ball he had at least 2 men swarming him, and his footwear wasn't helping him as he slipped a number of times when trying to turn quickly

Keegan, the defender, outplayed Connolly going forward. For me that says it all really. A star forward whose best calling card is keeping a HB quiet (he didn't, really) is faint praise Hound.

But it's simply not true to say Keegan completely outplayed Connolly going forward. We saw very little of Keegan as a driving force for Mayo. Certainly you can say Keegan did a great job defensively, but it wasn't easy, it was a very tough battle and Connolly made life difficult for Keegan too

Keegan outscored Connolly from play over the two games.

[imtommygunn]

It's hard to say who's in for player of the year at this stage.

I don't think there's been a year where there have been less standout candidates. Usually there's one guy near a cert but hard to pick one this year. The big guns in dublin kerry have been a bit quieter.

Bernard Brogan or David Moran I guess?

Not getting Brogan being mentioned in PotY conversations. Maybe it's because I gave the Leinster championship as much effort viewing as many of the team's gave playing but he's been good passing the ball but not much more than that. Beat in the air regularly by his man in the Mayo game. If I had to pick a Dublin player for PotY at this stage it would be Jack Mc or Ciaran Kilkenny.

Likewise I thought Moran was very ineffectual against Tyrone so he has to show well in the final to have any chance. PotY is a bit of a crapshoot this year.

Would agree moran was quiet against tyrone so he would need a big final.

When brogan gets the ball you're f**ked. Simple as that. Maybe he didn't get it as much as he could have against mayo but he is lethal when he has it. Unmarkable.

[beer baron]

James Mc Carthy will be getting in the all star side i'd suspect. Ciaran Kilkenny an outsider for player of the year if he has a big game in the final.

[Hound]

Connolly's performances in both semis have scuppered it. In Keegan's pocket for 140 minutes.

I think that's ott harsh.
You could also say that Connolly severely limited the influence of the best half back in the country for 140 minutes.
Having watched the replay again, Connolly did a trojan amount of work and got on the ball more than I thought. He made a really crucial tackle on Keith Higgins immediately after the second goal, when Higgins had made his way into the Dubs penalty box. No doubt he was very well marshalled by Mayo, anytime he had the ball he had at least 2 men swarming him, and his footwear wasn't helping him as he slipped a number of times when trying to turn quickly

Keegan, the defender, outplayed Connolly going forward. For me that says it all really. A star forward whose best calling card is keeping a HB quiet (he didn't, really) is faint praise Hound.

But it's simply not true to say Keegan completely outplayed Connolly going forward. We saw very little of Keegan as a driving force for Mayo. Certainly you can say Keegan did a great job defensively, but it wasn't easy, it was a very tough battle and Connolly made life difficult for Keegan too

Keegan outscored Connolly from play over the two games.

1 pt each when marking each other. They weren't on each other for the first couple of minutes of the first game when Connolly was in at FF. Having just watched the 2nd game again, Connolly actually had more possessions than Keegan, but always had Keegan plus at least one other swarm him when he got the ball. This led to a couple of turnovers, but also a few frees for Connolly

As I said I'm not for one second suggesting Keegan didn't play well, but to say he was more of an attacking force than Connolly is just simply not true.

[Croí na hÉireann]

1. Paul Durcan (Donegal)
2. Cathal McCarron (Tyrone)
3. Ronan McNamee (Tyrone)
4. Philly McMahon (Dublin)
5. Ryan McHugh (Donegal)
6. Kieran Martin (Westmeath)
7. Jack McCaffrey (Dublin)
8. Anthony Maher (Kerry)
9. Mattie Donnelly (Tyrone)
10. Diarmuid O'Connor (Mayo)
11. Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)
12. Stephen O'Brien (Kerry)
13. Conor McManus (Monaghan)
14. Paddy Andrews (Dublin)
15. Bernard Brogan (Dublin)

POTY:
1. Brogan
2. McManus
3. McCaffrey

You serious?

Name me one standout 6 in this year's championship. There is none. Weakest position of the lot. Martin may not have played at 6 most of the time but deserves an All-Star more than anybody else who has played in that jersey.

Martin never played centre-back in any of the games I saw him in.

Should have watched a bit closer, then. He played centre back in the first half against Meath before moving up.

As I said there is no standout 6. Cian O'Sullivan has been the best conventional 6 but Martin deserves an All-Star more.

Played there against Louth as well. Won't get an all Star though, will probably be nominated for one, along with Heslin, for their role in the game of the year.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Connolly's performances in both semis have scuppered it. In Keegan's pocket for 140 minutes.

I think that's ott harsh.
You could also say that Connolly severely limited the influence of the best half back in the country for 140 minutes.
Having watched the replay again, Connolly did a trojan amount of work and got on the ball more than I thought. He made a really crucial tackle on Keith Higgins immediately after the second goal, when Higgins had made his way into the Dubs penalty box. No doubt he was very well marshalled by Mayo, anytime he had the ball he had at least 2 men swarming him, and his footwear wasn't helping him as he slipped a number of times when trying to turn quickly

Keegan, the defender, outplayed Connolly going forward. For me that says it all really. A star forward whose best calling card is keeping a HB quiet (he didn't, really) is faint praise Hound.

But it's simply not true to say Keegan completely outplayed Connolly going forward. We saw very little of Keegan as a driving force for Mayo. Certainly you can say Keegan did a great job defensively, but it wasn't easy, it was a very tough battle and Connolly made life difficult for Keegan too

Keegan outscored Connolly from play over the two games.

1 pt each when marking each other. They weren't on each other for the first couple of minutes of the first game when Connolly was in at FF. Having just watched the 2nd game again, Connolly actually had more possessions than Keegan, but always had Keegan plus at least one other swarm him when he got the ball. This led to a couple of turnovers, but also a few frees for Connolly

As I said I'm not for one second suggesting Keegan didn't play well, but to say he was more of an attacking force than Connolly is just simply not true.

Keegan outscored Connolly from play over the two games and got himself into more scoring positions. I think it's fair to say he had a more telling attacking contribution over the two games.

[Canalman]

Think Bernard Brogan has had an immense year so far. His scoring (all from play I think) is off the charts.

As in  every year the AIF will decide alot of awards.

Goalkeeping standards shocking the last few years . Seems now that you are virtually guaranteed an allstar if your team makes the semi finals without a howler from the keeper as pretty much the rest have goofed up at some stage.

2104 a very low year imo for keepers.

[muppet]

Think Bernard Brogan has had an immense year so far. His scoring (all from play I think) is off the charts.

As in  every year the AIF will decide alot of awards.

Goalkeeping standards shocking the last few years . Seems now that you are virtually guaranteed an allstar if your team makes the semi finals without a howler from the keeper as pretty much the rest have goofed up at some stage.

2104 a very low year imo for keepers.

Please God we won't be still waiting.....

[nrico2006]

As we all know, the All Stars are a joke and it should be down to the best in each position, irrelevant of how far a team makes it.  I would think Bernard Brogan is in the running for Player of the Year.  As mentioned, he is unbelievably efficient and is nearly always wins the ball.  I think a lot of people under-rate him in a way, with there being an expectation for him to score lots by default in every game. 

As for the All Star team, I am not sure of how deserving of a place Ciaran Kilkenny is?  Seems pretty average when you consider what you would expect from a top quality number 11.

[Jinxy]

Brogan would be my POTY.
The best corner forward in the country bar none.

[Gold]

Brogan would be my POTY.
The best corner forward in the country bar none.

Absolutely unmarkable when gets the ball.

Lethal and great to watch these last lot of years, hard to beat a class forward

[AZOffaly]

As we all know, the All Stars are a joke and it should be down to the best in each position, irrelevant of how far a team makes it.  I would think Bernard Brogan is in the running for Player of the Year.  As mentioned, he is unbelievably efficient and is nearly always wins the ball.  I think a lot of people under-rate him in a way, with there being an expectation for him to score lots by default in every game. 

As for the All Star team, I am not sure of how deserving of a place Ciaran Kilkenny is?  Seems pretty average when you consider what you would expect from a top quality number 11.

It should be down to who performed best in that year, not who is the better player if you rated them side by side. Chances are, if you progress further, you have a better chance to perform better.

[Schkite]

If Brogan scores 6 pts against Kerry he'll finish as championship top scorer. I doubt there's ever been a top scorer who's scored everything from play?

[AZOffaly]

If Brogan scores 6 pts against Kerry to finish as championship top scorer. I doubt the top scorer has ever scored everything from play before?

That would be some achievement. I hope he doesn't take a tap over free or anything!