TFK are going to pick a 15 from the last 20 years.
I will have a poll for keepers, Full Back, Corner Backs, Wing backs, Centre Back, Midfield, Centre Forward, Wing Forwards, Full forward and Corner forwards.
Will be for players who stood out in that period - players who were at their tail end in the early 2000s like Brian Whelahan, Jamesie O’Connor etc or those who have only emerged in the last two or three seasons like Aaron Gillane, Adrian Mullen etc may not be considered.
Also i would advise lads to vote for players to be picked in where they feel there best position is. For example - JJ Delaney will be nominated at Full Back and if he doesn’t get the full back slot then he will also be part of the half back vote so if lads feel he was a better wing back then vote for him there.
We will start with keepers - all stars won between 2000 and 2019 are denoted in brackets.
Honourable mention to PJ Ryan, Gary Maguire, Nickey Quaid, Darren Gleeson, Stephen O’Keefe
I’m torn between Donal Óg and Cummins. Cummins was a great shot stopper and a very good keeper, but Donal Óg changed the game and could pick a man out anywhere on the pitch. Cummins had a puck like a mule, but when asked to direct them, he struggled. Donal Óg wasn’t a match for Cummins when it came to shot stopping however, he was good, but not in the Fitz x 2/Cummins class.
Cummins only played one year more than Fitzhenry, and in fairness to Cummins, it was a lot easier to stay on with Tipp in his latter years (winning Munster in 2011,2012 but not in his last year) as opposed to Fitzhenry who was involved with Wexford at the tail end of his career with one of the worst Wexford teams in recent history. his only honour in his final 3 years was wining two games, one against Offaly and one against Dublin in a replay. Hard to stay on as a keeper playing on a side routinely being humiliated.
Fitzhenry started very young, making is senior debut in his first year out of minor and being an ever present after that. He was exceptional in 96 in the AI winning side, making crucial saves throughout the campaign. The one thing about Fitzhenry that differentiated him from Cummins as a shot stopper was his ability to make the save, but also keep the ball away from danger after making the save. Both brilliant keepers, bias fully intact when making the decision, but having seen Fitzhenry all the way from his debut to his retirement and being a young lad seeing him the whole way through, it would be hard not to rate him so highly. Had he been in a better side, he would have undoubtedly won more individual honours, but being part of a Wexford side, particularly that late noughties side, he was on a hiding to nothing, but still managed to excel.
The best penalty taker of keepers at it too. His last minute free against Limerick in 01 was unreal accuracy.
