Not a bad starting 15 to have.
On last night’s League on Sunday show, former Kerry and Meath legends, Colm O’Rourke and Colm Cooper, picked their National League All-Stars.
Based on the performances of players throughout all four divisions of the campaign, they selected their top 15 positionally.
There was certainly some manipulation of positions in order to squeeze players in, but undoubtedly the lads picked a very strong team.
Goalkeeper
Niall Morgan gets the number one spot, despite Tyrone not having their best campaign, especially after a poor start, the Edendork man was pivotal in keeping the Red Hands up in Division One.
His goalkeeping and shot stopping were obviously key factors in this, but what he brings to the team in terms of kickouts, dead-ball situations and sweeping is also massive.
One moment that stands out was in the crunch game for survival against Kerry in Killarney, and the All-Ireland champions had just conceded a goal in the form of a penalty.
The very next kickout saw Morgan pick out the smallest man on the field Darragh Canavan, who took his mark and then played a wonderful ball to Darren McCurry who found the net for an immediate response.
Full back line
Lee Keegan, Jason Foley and Limerick’s Iain Corbett make up the full back line. Keegan didnt have his best performance for Mayo in yesterday’s league final loss to Kerry, but has been influential throughout the campaign.
Kerry’s Jason Foley was dubbed as “the most improved back” of the year by Colm O’Rourke and played a key role in helping The Kingdom plug up the issues in the back that they’ve had in recent years.
Corbett was a brick wall in Limerick’s rise to Division Two, and although he played mostly at number six, those in studio positioned him here to fit him into their side after a terrific season.
Half back line
Conor Glass, the Derry midfielder was shoehorned into the half back position, because his performances for Rory Gallagher’s side were outstanding since returning from Australia.
Tadhg Morley of Kerry and Jarlath Óg Burns of Armagh, occupied the remaining positions on this line, after enjoying very successful campaigns.
Midfield
The reason the liked of Glass were moved back to the half back line was because the midfield positions had to be awarded to Mayo’s Matthew Ruane and Galway’s Paul Conroy.
Ruane is no secret, as he enjoyed a wonderful season last year, but Conroy may just have cemented himself as one of the best scoring midfielders in the country – some of his shots were just outrageous.
Half forward line
Rian O’Neill of Armagh, Enda Smith of Roscommon and Kerry’s Paudie Clifford make up a very strong looking half forward line.
O’Neill’s performances, particularly early in the campaign have been brilliant, although many Armagh fans would rather see him playing at 14 rather than 11, but the versatile star is dangerous in both.
Enda Smith was vital in Roscommon’s road to Division Two glory, and helped the Rossies beat their Connacht rivals Galway on two occasions.
David deservedly gets a lot of praise, but Paudie Clifford sees so much ball and is such a pivotal part in the engine room of that Kerry team. The work rate and distances that he racks up are ridiculous.
Full forward line
Sam Mulroy finished the league season as the top scorer in the country, which isn’t a bad feat considering who he was up against, but more importantly to him and Louth, was winning Division Three and securing their place in Division Two next year.
Ryan O’Donoghue has really grown from his breakthrough year last season, and has become the focal point of the Mayo attack.
Although he won’t be happy with his team’s performance yesterday, the ‘Bullet from Belmullet’ will be looking to bring his excellent form into the championship.
Last, but certainly not least, is the absolute freak of a footballer David Clifford. Every week he seems to pull off unbelievable scores, and shows off new aspects of his game.
In the league final he tormented Padraig O’Hora, scoring 1-06, and will be going into the championship very excited about his own performances, and what Kerry could do this year.
