We’ll just give you a little reminder.
There didn’t see to be too many objections to the 2017 All-Star team, with the exception of David Clarke getting the award ahead of Stephen Cluxton there wasn’t much outrage.
The All-Ireland finalists had 13 players in the team with Paul Geaney and Colm Cavanagh the other two to get into the team.
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But, did you know there is an alternative to the All-Stars? Yep, SportsJOE’s own Colm Parkinson does his own ‘Wooly Awards’ and has been dishing them out.
Here’s a list of some of the awards:
- Goal of the year
- Biggest disappointment
- Best individual performance
- Best tactical decision
- Point of the year
But what about the Wooly All-Star team, it’s sure to ruffle a few feathers.
Stephen Cluxton
Captain fantastic and didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the entire campaign.
Chris Barrett
Had a performance for the ages in the All-Ireland final, dispossessing Dublin players like it was nobody’s business.
Michael Fitzsimons
The Cuala man may not have been at his best when marking Andy Moran but was the standout fullback up until that point.
Fintan Kelly
Gets in ahead of Keith Higgins this is one that could upset a lot of people. Kelly may be a victim of his team’s lack of performance but was the standout player for Monaghan in 2017.
Tiernan McCann
Could have been the hardest done by player at the All-Stars, if any of Jack McCaffrey, Colm Boyle or Cian O’Sullivan were omitted there would have been uproar but McCann was as good as any.
Cian O’Sullivan
Nobody reads the game quite like Cian O’Sullivan and rightfully picks up a Wooly.
Colm Boyle
What he did in the replay against Kerry rivalled Barrett in the All-Ireland final, absolutely everywhere and an engine as usual.
Kevin Feely
It’s not often Brian Fenton gets completely outplayed but Kevin Feely is something special, he tormented Meath the game beforehand too.
Tom Parsons
Parsons has a great story about how he would train on his own every day in Wales before making it back into the Mayo squad, could be considered to miss out on an All-Star but his commitment to the cause and commanding presence in midfield was not overlooked in the Wooly Awards.
Kevin McLoughlin
When you think of a player that is committed to the cause Kevin McLoughlin is certainly one. He’s the type of man that does the dirty work and has long been one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Aidan O’Shea
Dragged Mayo through the qualifiers, did a job on Kieran Donaghy and is just a joy to watch. People will always look for flaws in his game but when you’re that good people always will.
Con O’Callaghan
There had been a lot of hype around the 21-year-old, he was Cuala’s star man as they won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship and was the same with the Dublin Under-21’s.
Early goals against Tyrone and Mayo and being sheer class throughout year means Con O’Callaghan gets his very first Wooly.
Paul Mannion
Edges out Paul Geaney to the corner forward spot, a great year for Mannion who you would think is older than 24-years-old given how long he has been knocking around.
Connaire Harrison
Terrorised Monaghan in the Ulster Championship and was one of the key men in Down’s resurgence in 2017.
Andy Moran
Player of the Year and rightfully so.
You can listen to the full episode below that includes the reasons players were included and excluded.
