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2: Right corner back – Stephen Connolly (Coolderry) Coolderry did very well to reach the semi-finals. They look to be heading into transition but once again they dug deep and the highlight of their year was an excellent quarter-final win over Shinrone. It all unravelled badly for them in the semi-final and that may be the abiding memory of the year for them but they can take pride in some of their earlier displays. Their full back line went very well in most games and Stephen Connolly gave a series of very tidy displays. He was given the task of marking Adam Screeney twice and did this as well as anyone in Offaly this year, better than most, even though Screeney did inflict some harm.
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3: Full back – Ciaran Burke (Ballinamere) Oisin Mahon of Kilcormac-Killoughey commands the utmost of respect and in a different year, he would make it. He is an old fashioned full back, sort of out of the Kevin Kinahan mould. There are times when it looks like he could be cleaned but it never happens and he almost always gets the job done. As the year heads into October and the ground softens up, he is at his best and his display in the closing quarter of the county final as Ballinamere threw everything at them was phenomenal. Ciaran Burke, however, has to be on this team. He had an uncomfortable time on Luke O'Connor in the semi-final against St Rynagh's but that was very much an aberration. He was rock solid apart from that, an inspirational leader and in the county final, he did what very few have done this year: he largely curbed the influence of Charlie Mitchell.
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4: Left corner back – James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey) Kilcormac-Killoughey held James Mahon back on their senior B team last year but his graduation to their first side was automatic this year. And as we expected, Mahon settled in like a duck to water, giving a series of highly efficient, top class displays. A really exceptional hurler, Mahon scarcely put a foot wrong and he couldn't be left off – even though Simon Og Lyons had some excellent games for St Rynagh's and was considered.
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5: Right half back – Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's) It was a strange year for St Rynagh's, who got an awful hiding from Kilcormac-Killoughey in the second round and almost qualified from the group in spite of themselves. Yet they showed their old character and ability to perform in the knockout stages. They had a very good win over Birr in the quarter-final and ran Ballinamere close in the semi-final – they were ahead inside the closing quarter but as we suspected Ballinamere had the legs for them late on and scored the last seven points without reply to make the final. Ben Conneely and Luke O'Connor were St Rynagh's two best players and Conneely makes the defence here. He mopped up a lot of ball, distributed very well and exerted a huge influence for them. Ballinamere's Jack Fogarty was very close to making it as he had an excellent season for them. Jordan Quinn also had a great year for K-K and both those could very easily be selected and stood over.