Every year the GAA All-Stars are announced and every year there is criticism of the weight placed on performances in the All Ireland semi-final/final. Too often it seems like one good performance in one of those games is enough to secure an All-Star, a move that is contrary to the point of the award.
In order to address this, Balls.ie is pleased to introduce our rolling All-Stars. Every round we'll consider the best performances and compare them to the existing holder. For example, Liam Rushe had a stormer for Dublin in Parnell Park last Sunday, but was it good enough to out Kerry's Padraig Boyle who was brilliant on the opening weekend against Carlow?
Already this year we've seen Dublin run Kilkenny close, Kerry land a superb victory against Laois and the All-Ireland champions hit the ground running as Galway overcame Offaly. Without further ado, here is the first round of rolling All-Stars.
Eoghan Cahill
It may seem odd to choose a goalkeeper who conceded five goals, but anyone in Tullamore on Saturday night would tell you it could have been ten. Cahill was signaled out for special praise by former Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins after his strong showing for Offaly.
Galway wait 4 championship matches for a goal and then 5 come along all at once. Hats off to Offaly goalkeeper Eoghan Cahill who was like a human pinball machine at times, making 4 superb saves, 3 from Joe Canning #offalyvgal
— Philip Lanigan (@lanno10) May 12, 2018
Warren Kavanagh
The Wicklow star was brilliant in their opening game win against Mayo. This could be a big year for his county in the Christy Ring Cup.
Adrian Tuohy
The Beagh clubman looks like a nightmare to come up against and a joy to play with. An old-school sticky full-back.
Ben Conneely
There were several highlights for Offaly despite the loss, with the skill demonstrated by Conneely perhaps the greatest one. Backed up a strong showing in the league and certainly one to watch as the Championship progresses.
Padraic Mannion
The skilled wing-back picking up where he left off last year. A huge player for the Tribesmen as they go in search of a double.
Joe Maskey
Back-to-back brilliant performances for Antrim as they moved to two from two with a win against Carlow. A cruel blow for Maskey is the foot injury he picked up, which has been confirmed as a broken bone and is set to rule him out for an extended period.
Chris Crummey
Led Dublin out and was awarded man-of-the-match after his showing against Kilkenny. Did not deserve to be on the losing side.
James Maher
A lovely score just after half-time topped a fine performance from the Kilkenny man. Maher offered himself as an outlet when Dublin's strong pressing began to get on top and was unlucky to not land man of the match.
Shane Kinsella
The Offaly star is just in the form of his life at the moment. A great league was followed up by some superb showings for Kinnitty and once again on Saturday Kinsella was very impressive.
Aonghus Clarke
TJ Reid can be considered unlucky to miss out but impossible to leave out Clarke after 0-7 for Westmeath including a score directly from the throw-in. A big player in the two from two wins for Westmeath.
Conal Keaney
Like a fine wine. Keaney has returned and looked as good as ever. Dublin dropped considerably after he was taken off.
Nigel Elliot
Elliot's championship got off to a bizarre start when the Antrim man collected the ball from the throw-in against Meath and drove towards goal, narrowly shooting wide. The only problem was that it was his own goal. Meath scored the '65 but Elliot made up for it with a hat-trick of goals. Another 1-02 on Saturday.
Jack Goulding
The Ballyduff man was brilliant against Carlow and landed 1-2 against Laois to help Kerry to a huge win in Tralee. Two scores from the sideline already this year for the UL star.
Liam Rushe
Caused untold problems in the Kilkenny square and unstoppable with sliotar in hand. A major task for Dublin's opposition this year is stopping Rushe.
What a sickener for Dubs. They played really, really well. Skills, work rate top notch. Real questions about Kilkenny defence. Liam Rushe treated them like Godzilla in downtown Tokyo.
— Tommy Martin (@TommyMartinVM) May 13, 2018
Brian Concannon
Made his Championship debut, a lovely catch and pull for his goal. Between Concannon and Conor Whelan Galway have added a degree of pace to an already extremely physical front six.
