” hAilpÌn Tops the Charts

21st Jul 2005

O'hAilpin jumps ahead of Whelahan to be No.1 choice in Half-Back Line for Hurling Legends Team

Se·n ”g remains calm while his marker spontaneously combusts during a league game.

With three full weeks of voting completed, the search for the Guinness Hurling Legends Team is really starting to get interesting. Votes have been registered from each of the 32 countries, while 3.8% of the votes have come from fans outside of Ireland, from as far apart as Seattle and New Zealand!Voters in Dublin dominate so far with 29.5%, while Cork (11.4%) and Kilkenny (6.5%) have also been busy.

While county allegiance is certainly a factor in some of the voting (Damien Fitzhenry is the most voted for Goalkeeper in Wexford, while Davvy Fitz is in Clare), on the whole, it does not seem to be playing a huge role indeciding who is leading the votes. So, while Cork players are certainlyprominent in the Cork fans selections, DJ Carey is their second most voted for player after Se·n ”g, and Waterford fans have put aside their rivalry with neighbours Kilkenny and have Henry Shefflin as their 2nd most voted for player, after local hero Tony Browne.

The current team selection has had some interesting changes since Week 1.As expected, there is a huge battle for the goalkeepers spot. Brendan Cummins was leading the voting after week 1, but Damien Fitzhenry, following on no doubt from his superb performance in the Leinster Final, has since moved into an, albeit narrow, lead for the No.1 shirt. It will be interesting to see if performances on the pitch have influence on the voting over the coming weeks.

Brian Lohan is still the most voted for player by far in the full back line, but the big surprise is the huge leap in popularity of Diarmuid O'Sullivan, who has jumped ahead of week 1 contenders Willie O'Connor, Ollie Canning and his fellow Corkonian Wayne Sherlock to be a clear second in the ranking at the end of Week 3.

The only change in the halfback line since week 1 is that Se·n ”g O'hAilpin is now leading the voting, ahead of Brian Whelahan, and Clare's Se·n McMahon. These three players were also the selection in Week 1, but J.J.Delaney, Brian Corcoran and Anthony Daly are all still very much in contention for making the final cut.

O'hAilpin, who will lead his side out against Waterford this Sunday is the 3rd most voted for player from the shortlist, not far behind Kilkenny's D.J.Carey (No1) and Henry Shefflin.

Colin Lynch and Tommy Dunne have been the most popular pairing in midfield since Day 1, and nothing has changed here, but Ollie Baker, Johnny Pilkington and Tony Browne are all fighting for inclusion.

Henry Shefflin is still almost everyone's No.1 choice in the Half-Forward line, but Martin Storey, who made such a huge contribution to Wexford's1996 renaissance, has had a huge number of votes over the last two weeks to claim a place in the current team alongside Shefflin, and John Leahy.Jamesie O'Connor and Ken McGrath are just behind the Oulart-the-Ballagh man in the rankings.

DJ Carey, Joe Deane and Eoin Kelly are the most popular choices for the forward line, and have been throughout the past two weeks, and despite strong voting for Paul Flynn and Eugene Cloonan, they remain solid in the forward line this week.

The big question now is whether there will be any significant changes in voting patterns after the next two weekends and the four quarterfinals clashes. Fans can continue to vote on www.guinnesshurling.ie up until the end of August.