HURLING TEAM OF THE YEAR 2023

is john conlon not worthing of center back. was consistent all year, got no protection from midfield, has a wingback beside him who is more worried about going up the field than defending and is always on hand to help out the full back line. Will O'Donoghue was all over the place in the first 25 mins against galway until the half forward line started funnelling back. Hurler of the year for me is Kyle Hayes

Quaid

Butler/lawlor/Nash

Byrnes/Burke/Hayes

O donovan/o Donohoe

Morrissey/ reid/o donnell

Whelan/ gillane/cody

Gillane hurler of the year

Edited to take out Tony Kelly..missed top many frees and when man marked has way less effect on a game..tj scores from play have dwindled but Still contributing massively by setting up scores and winning ball..excellent on frees too

N Quaid

M Butler, H Lawlor, B Nash

D Byrnes, J Conlon, K Hayes

D Donovan, D Fitzgerald

T Morrissey, C Lynch, S O Donnell

C Whelan, A Gillane, E Cody

Player of Year D O Donovan

Moment of Year Eoin Murphy's save v Clare

Yes he had a good Leinster campaign but unfortunately that early injury v Clare finished off any outside chance he would have had. His last two long range frees in injury time to beat Wexford was one of my highlights of the year.

So you're saying that there is more to assessing a forward's (irrespective of who they are) performance than scores from play?

I didn't mean to come across as hostile, I actually agree with you but it is the selective application of this opinion by posters is what I have an issue with. TJ's main contribution to Kilkenny over the last five or six years has not been scores from play or even free taking, he is not expected to be their main scorer for play, he has been the team's leader, he is our best ball winner, sets up many scores from play and is fouled for a significant proportion of the frees he converts.

Besides it seems hypocritical to me that those who rave about the importance of goal keeper's puck outs are quickest to dismiss the increased importance of a 9/10 free taker in the modern game where cynical play is used to stop attacks before they get going and players are buying frees more than ever.

It could be argued that free taking is more relevant to assessment of an individual's performance than puck outs are to a goal keepers performance since free taking success is almost solely down to the individual's skill at free taking whereas with puck outs there are other very significant variables at play such as the success of the team's systems aimed at creating space and giving the goalkeeper something to aim at, which of course some teams are much better at than others. Yet we constantly hear how great certain player's puck outs are when assessing their performance.

There have been many instances over this years championship and previous ones that show the importance of a great free taker, with great players like Horgan, Gillane and Kelly missing frees at crucial times, Reid rarely misses even when under extreme pressure and while how much you should consider free taking in the assessment of performance is subjective, leaving it out of the assessment in the first place is nonsensical

Dismissing players performances with a "didn't score from play" is simplistic in the extreme and certain posters are applying this logic to matches where the player in question was in the running for man of the match even more so.

The post being lauded as factual, precise and logical was not factual nor precise. That is a fact.

I'm enjoying this, you're getting more hysterical with each post

Goalkeeper: Eibhear Quilligan

Full back line: Mike Casey, Huw Lawlor, Barry Nash

Half backs: Diarmaid Byrnes, Will O'Donoghue, Kyle Hayes

Midfield: Cathal Malone, Darragh O'Donovan

Half forwards: David Fitzgerald, Tony Kelly, Tom Morrissey

Full forwards: Aaron Gillane, Eoin Cody, Evan Niland.

Hurler of the year: Kyle Hayes: literally never stops running, working, tackling and providing attacing threat. Great performance in the final, most possessions of any Limerick player and covered an unreal amount of ground.