All Richie Hogan wanted was a few options.

The four-time All-Star and 2014 Hurler of the Year thinks John Conlon should be in with a big shout for that gong after this year. With Graeme Mulcahy hot on his heels. The Kilkenny man was also impressed with Seamus Flanagan's abrasive style in a Limerick jersey that saw him tackle anything that moved and cause panic-stations for every defender that stood in his path. Young Hurler of the Year? The Feohanagh Castlemahon 21-year-old can't be far off that. The All-Star nominations and the shortlists for the Hurler and Young Hurler of the Year awards 2018 were released on Thursday morning and now we know that none of those men will be lifting these individual awards come November 2 at the Convention Centre's Black Tie banquet.

Hurler of the Year

That's because John Conlon and Graeme Mulcahy aren't part of the three man shortlist for the award. In fairness to the journalists who were in charge of selecting the nominations, it's impossible to keep everybody happy when it comes to the All-Stars, but there's always going to be uproar when after one of hurling's greatest ever summers, full of style, grace and brilliant individual consistency, that only three men are in competition for these Hurler of the Year awards. Whether it's they who decide on such short shortlists is up for debate, but what isn't is that the format needs changing. As it turned out, Joe Canning, Padraic Mannion and Cian Lynch were their selections for the HOTY. It's always a matter of opinion but Graeme Mulcahy's exclusion is indefensible to any hurling eye. He was mr. consistent in the corner for the Treaty county this year and he turned the All-Ireland final when the stakes were at their highest. John Conlon was a beast let loose in Munster as he bullied full backs up and down the country all year long. How difficult would it be to have five, six or even seven men for their fellow inter-county hurlers to choose the winner from when the moment comes around? Because Peter Duggan, Aaron Gillane and Declan Hannon can't have been too far away either.

Young Hurler of the Year

Kyle Hayes, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Mark Coleman are the contenders here. That man Seamus Flanagan is nowhere to be seen. Richie Hogan and his fellow inter-county hurlers will be in charge of selecting the winners for these awards, and the Danesfort club man spoke for a whole lot of them when he made clear on Thursday morning that he may not even have the option to vote for who he thinks should be the winner. https://twitter.com/richiehogan8/status/1040196852208029696 And Seamus Flanagan appreciated Richie's vote of support. https://twitter.com/SeamusFlanagan1/status/1040221431928422400 As for the All-Star team itself, 45 contenders were announced on a list made up of 3 goalies, 18 defenders, 6 midfielders and 18 forwards. We made a case for Clare's Jack Browne on Thursday morning and former Banner hurler Brendan Bugler was quick to bemoan his county man's exclusion from the list of nominees also. The fact that five full backs were among the 18 defenders nominated to four corner backs - when the full back spot appears to be sewn up in Turloughmore, county Galway, that hardly makes too much sense. https://twitter.com/brendanbugler/status/1040132802107326465 Jackie Tyrrell was also displeased at Browne's omission. https://twitter.com/MrJackieTee/status/1040144774211284992