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“The three assassins up front.”
The Sunday Game panel has named their Hurling Team of the Year, with Tipperary and Kilkenny players taking up 10 of the 15 slots.
Amid torrential rains and thankful bursts of sunshine, Tipperary roared back from a slow start to defeat Kilkenny with a scoring blitz to claim their 28th All-Ireland title.
After fulfilling their media duties and celebrating in the dressing room, it was time to leave Croke Park and head off for the hotel for a victory banquet.
Earlier in the night, Tipperary captain Seamus Callanan had the honour of chatting to Marty Morrissey at the team hotel, while Joanne Cantwell spoke with Tipp boss Liam Sheedy between whoops and hollers from the crowd.
We even had the revelation from Ken Hogan – hero of the 1989 All-Ireland win over Antrim – that his son, goalkeeper Brian Hogan, ate his porridge at the breakfast table with the rest of the clann before he set off on the road to Croker.
After the RTE panel had gnawed the analytical meat from the bones, it was time for The Sunday Game selection for Man of the Match, Team of the Year and Hurler of the Year.
Noel McGrath, who scored 0-2 for his side, was pure ice in possession and broke up many a Kilkenny attack, got the nod for RTE’s ‘Man of the Match’ and proved a popular winner:
"You get lucky sometimes… some fellas thought our legs were gone!"
Noel McGrath with a mix of modesty and humour as he is named All-Ireland Man of the Match 👏 pic.twitter.com/9yEiHsypxS
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 18, 2019
The punditry panel awarded Noel McGrath their Hurler of the Year accolade while Young Hurler of the Year went to Kilkenny forward Adrian Mullen.
Here was how the final 15 was put together, with the 2019 champions leading the way with six players included.
SUNDAY GAME TEAM OF THE YEAR
1. Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)
2. Sean Finn (Limerick)
3. Ronan Maher (Tipperary)
4. Cathal Barrett (Tipperary)5. Brendan Maher (Tipperary)
6. Padraig Walsh (Kilkenny)
7. Pauric Maher (Tipperary)8. Noel McGrath (Tipperary)
9. Diarmuid O’Keeffe (Wexford)10. Lee Chin (Wexford)
11. TJ Reid (Kilkenny)
12. Colin Fennelly (Kilkenny)13. Aaron Gillane (Limerick)
14. Seamus Callanan (Tipperary)
15. Patrick Horgan (Cork)
So there you have it.
If you want to compare the panel’s XV to our own Hurling Team of the Year, compiled by Niall McIntyre, here you go:
The GAA JOE All-Star hurling team for 2019.
Honourable mentions for John Donnelly, Rory O'Connor and Liam Ryan. pic.twitter.com/booWKYXAzp
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 18, 2019
Let the debates begin.
