1. Gavin Mulreany (Donegal)
NONE of the three goalkeepers that made the shortlist played much, if any, football last year. Gavin Mulreany edges out returning Mayo netminder Rob Hennelly and Kerry understudy Shane Murphy.
Mulreany caught the eye on the opening night of the league against Dublin and while there have been moments that have shown he still has work to do, his shot-stopping and free-taking allied to the ability to kick off both feet have meant they’ve hardly missed Shaun Patton at all.
2. Tom O’Sullivan (Kerry)
HAVING missed the latter stages of the All-Ireland win last year, Tom O’Sullivan has picked up with Kerry where he left off with Dingle.
Named Club Footballer of the Year for last season recently, whether it’s by design or a product of other players missing, O’Sullivan has been playing a lot of his football at wing-back.
You’d think it makes sense to keep them there in summer and push Brian Ó Beaglaoich into the corner, given what O’Sullivan brings to their attack.
3. Jason Foley (Kerry)
YOU could make an argument that he hasn’t had a huge pile to do, and with that you might find some justification, but Foley is a defender that teams are scared to test in any kind of foot race.
He did get it tight with Daire Cregg the first day but followed up with a solid show against Donegal before keeping Rob Finnerty to a single shot that he missed. Since then, the scrambled Oisin O’Neill goal and an Andrew Woods point have been the only scores he’s leaked from play. Finnerty,
Con O’Callaghan and Lorcan O’Dell for a half each, Darragh Beirne and Aidan O’Shea alternating, they have all come out of their battles with nothing to show.
4. Finnbarr Roarty (Donegal)
JIM McGuinness hasn’t overused Roarty in the league but when he has played, he’s been hugely effective. Displayed the addition of a right foot to his game when Kerry came to Ballyshannon, after which McGuinness had high praise. “So he knows that he has to add that in as well and not be predictable. I think that’s what all the good players do, don’t they? They don’t stand still.”
His man-marking jobs on a deeper Ryan O’Donoghue and Oisin Conaty suggest that he’s being primed for the Paudie Clifford job when it comes around.
5. Sam Callinan (Mayo)
THERE has been a degree of very unfair impatience around Callinan and Jack Coyne, who were fast-tracked into the senior team very early. Callinan is still only 22, having been on the senior squad since he was 18.
A lot of their struggle in the past couple of seasons has been their failure to replace the punchy runners they’ve lost in defence. Playing mostly at 5, he’s giving them that. A bit more end product and he’ll be hard stopped.
6. Caolan McGonagle (Donegal)
THE Buncrana man is a kind of unquantifiable figure for Donegal in that sometimes you might only notice him when he’s not there. When he is in the team, they just look so much more secure down the middle.
The role he played under the old rules was made close to redundant but he’s finding ways to plug up the centre. They conceded just one goal in the first five games before the foot came off the throttle a bit. Big presence on kickouts.
7. Ross McQuillan (Armagh)
SUBSEQUENTLY praised by his manager for the impact he had in winning the 2024 All-Ireland as a sub, McQuillan has since become a mainstay of the team to the point of being one of their most effective and consistent operators.
Nothing says that better than his scoring return – he hit 0-3 in five of their seven league games this spring.
8. Michael Langan (Donegal)
YOU could maybe opt for Bob Tuohy here, simply for the fact that without maybe being spectacular, he’s simply given Mayo a platform in the aerial battle that they haven’t had for a while. But if anything, it just shows you where Michael Langan’s game is at that he’s bringing everything Donegal need.
He has the slight luxury of not being their primary kickout target, allowing him to stay that bit fresher for the attacking runs with which he can do so much damage. His defensive game is lightyears ahead of where it was a few years ago.
9. Joe O’Connor (Kerry)
SO much of what gets noticed in terms of O’Connor’s work is beneath kickouts and breaking lines in attack, but the bit maybe being missed is how effective he is at the head of Kerry’s defensive unit.
Tends to man the very centre at the front of the arc and brings the same aggression to that job. They’ve defended the arc pretty well barring against Mayo, who kicked five of their six two-pointers that day from wider positions. The only central one, O’Connor was flinging himself at Fergal Boland’s boot, just unable to block it.
10. Jordan Flynn (Mayo)
THE development of Bob Tuohy and the switch of David McBrien to the middle has had the knock-on effect of giving Jordan Flynn the chance to do what he’s best at.
Almost surprisingly, of his 1-17, only three of the scores have been two-pointers. It’s the pace he brings off the shoulder and the directness that are making him hard to work with again.
11. Seanie O’Shea (Kerry)
THE best footballer in the country so far this year, O’Shea has taken his performances to another level altogether. That is a scary thought for everyone else. Has kicked 10 two-pointers.
From the brilliance of his display in Ballyshannon through to the calmness and quality of his late equaliser in Armagh, he has served up a phenomenal league campaign.
12. Conor O’Donnell (Donegal)
GOALS in consecutive outings against Mayo, Armagh and Galway were all critical in helping Donegal to reach the league decider, but O’Donnell’s contribution runs far deeper.
The speed at which he can solo on both feet and the turn of pace he possesses are a gift that they have made good use of since he got over his injury problems. As happy to ferry ball from back to front, he is ripping it up.
13. Daire Cregg (Roscommon)
ALTHOUGH Diarmuid Murtagh is their top scorer and Enda Smith is horsing his way through defences, the variety of what Cregg has brought to the table squeezes him into the team.
Take one-pointers – he’s kicked 16 of them, compared to Murtagh’s five. Having kicked 0-9 down in Killarney, he was brilliant in the narrow wins over Armagh and Galway.
14. David Clifford (Kerry)
THE GOAT. Surely nothing more needs said?
15. Rob Finnerty (Galway)
PADRAIC Joyce gave him the ultimate vote of confidence by declaring that, from the shadows of Walsh and Comer, this is now Rob Finnerty’s team.
He’s responded with 32 scores from 50 shots in the league, displaying how hard he’s worked on the right leg in effectively rescuing them from relegation against Dublin. Has been so good for the last three years really.
