Joe Canning romped home in the hurling vote this week
Galway hurling icon Joe Canning has surged to victory in this week's GAA.ie Hurling Player of the Week award, driving home with a stunning 51 per cent of the vote.
Canning was at his swashbuckling best in Galway's draw with Tipperary on Sunday, striking 1-11 in a superb display. Canning's performance saw him romp home with 51 per cent of the votes cast on the GAA's official Twitter (@officialgaa), Facebook and Instagram pages.
That left him well clear of Séamus Harnedy (Cork) in second place on 35 per cent, with Limerick's John Fitzgibbon a distant third on 14 per cent.
Click here for the GAA.ie Football Player of the Week results
GAA.ie HURLING PLAYER OF THE WEEK
1. Joe Canning (Galway) -3,476 votes (51 per cent)
2. Séamus Harnedy (Cork) 2,385 votes (35 per cent)
3. John Fitzgibbon (Limerick) 949 votes (14 per cent)
He has done it many times before but it never seems to get old. **Joe Canning **was Galway's dynamo in their exciting draw against Tipperary on Sunday, scoring 1-11, 1-2 from play, in a performance which underlined his status as one of the greats of the modern era. His goal, in first half stoppage time, was a work of art, the Portumna man winning possession 45 metres from goal before driving forward and lashing imperiously to the roof of the net. Then, at the end of the game, he scored a magnificent sideline cut which looked like it would give Galway the win, until John O'Dwyer rescued a draw for Tipperary with a superb score of his own deep in injury-time. He was a comfortable winner this week, taking home more than half the votes cast.
Cork and Kilkenny were responsible for a wonderful game of hurling on Saturday night at Páirc Ui Rinn. Kilkenny, somehow, took victory in the end, and TJ Reid, Walter Walsh and Colin Fennelly all played huge roles in the Cats' remarkable win. However, Cork deserve credit for the way they shook off the baggage of three weekends of poor displays to really rattle Kilkenny. Cork were full of fight, nobody more so than the outstanding Séamus Harnedy. The St Ita's man led from the front for Cork, putting the Kilkenny full-back line under pressure from the start and setting the tone for Cork's rebellious display - one emphasised by their wearing of commemorative 1916 jerseys on the night. Harnedy hit 1-3 from play and did not deserve to finish on the losing side. He finished second with 35 per cent.
In third place was John Fitzgibbon with 14 per cent of the vote. Although Limerick will face infinitely harder tests than the examination Laois put up in a 6-29 to 1-12 rout at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night, John Fitzgibbon's performance for the Treaty County merits special attention. The 23-year-old Adare man has been on the Limerick senior panel for over a year now, and in the absence of established forwards such as Declan Hannon and Cian Lynch on Saturday, as well as the Na Piarsaigh contingent, he made a case for more permanent inclusion in the starting team. Fitzgibbon scored 1-14 against Laois, including 1-5 from open play. His free-taking was nerveless and clinical as nine points from placed balls attest to, but it was his natural attacking grace that was most notable.
Players of the Week are decided based on votes cast by followers of @officialgaa on Twitter, on the Official GAA Facebook Page and on the Official GAA Instagram page
