The all-star nominations in football were announced this morning. Forty-five players were named with most of the expected figures getting the nod. However, there were a few notable omissions. Here are five players unlucky to miss out on an All-Star nomination.
Ross Munnelly
The consistently excellent Munnelly seems to grab a few points from play every time he plays. The Laois wing forward is so classy, yet so unshowy and diligent in his play. He has the skills of a marquee forward and the attitude of a workhorse.
In lovely Augrim back in May, he struck nine point in all, four of them coming from play. Then, he proceeded to run riot in the first half against the Dubs, lobbing over four points from play, as Laois ruffled the Leinster champions before fading in the final quarter.
In the qualifiers, he and Donie Kingston were to the fore as Laois squeezed past Fermanagh. He was hobbled with injury early on against Tipp and limped off before half-time.
Gary Brennan
The Railway Cup star has previously been heralded as the new Declan Browne or John Galvin - a star player on a side unlikely to win any honours. But Clare came closer than most to beating Kerry in Munter this year and were eked out by Kildare in the qualifiers. A Munster title should be an achievable goal in the coming years. Brennan was imperious at midfield against Kerry and in the two game saga against Waterford.
Kevin Dyas
Dyas attracted the most headlines this year when he was sent down to a press night in Dublin with explicit instructions to keep his mouth shut. But he impressed throughout the Ulster championship, winning plaudits for his performances against Cavan and Monaghan. Dyas' vision, intelligence and passing ability from half-forward was vital as a revitalised Armagh returned to form after a flat couple of seasons.
Paddy McGrath
The improving corner back was almost sidelined by a cavernous pothole on the road on the way to training last year, which inspired him to 'slam' Donegal county council, but he recovered to have an excellent year, starring in the Ulster championship against Derry and in the All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin. He was part of the full-back line which completely shut out the All-Ireland champions.
Tom Flynn
Along with Fíontán Ó Curraoin, Flynn forms part of the first acceptable midfield Galway have sent out to bat since their incoming manager called it a day a decade ago.
Flynn's energetic hard running caused serious problems for defences around the country. He was influential throughout the year, slamming home goals against Tipperary and a freakishly memorable one against Kerry as Galway reached the All-Ireland quarter-final for the first time since 2008.
See also: Our Football Team of the Year minus players from the big four counties
