The Hurling Championship really exploded into life on Sunday as Waterford and Kilkenny played out a thrilling draw in the All-Ireland Semi-Final.

It was a game Waterford dominated for long stretches and that’s reflected in the fact that two of their players – Austin Gleeson and Pauric Mahony – make the short-list for this week’s Hurler of the Week nominations.

They’re joined there by Kilkenny’s Richie Hogan who hurled to his usual high standard again on Sunday.

The voting process is simple: retweet the image of your chosen player on the GAA's official Twitter account (@officialgaa) or like their image on the GAA's official Facebook and Instagram pages. Voting will close at 10am on Tuesday, August 9 and the winner will be announced on GAA.ie.

Hurler of the Week Nominations

Austin Gleeson – Waterford

Playing at centre-forward, Austin Gleeson produced his best display yet in a Waterford jersey as he tortured the Kilkenny defence in Sunday’s All-Ireland Semi-Final.

The Mount Sion man scored five points from play, and most of them were of the spectacular variety as he fired the ball over the bar from all sorts of angles and distances.

We are used to seeing Kilkenny defenders dominate in the air, but Gleeson won most balls that were pucked down on top of him and it was no surprise to see his marker Kieran Joyce called ashore before the end.

Pauric Mahony – Waterford

Mahony deserves enormous credit for the manner in which he has bounced back from the nasty double leg-break that ruled him out of last year’s Championship.

He was immense against Kilkenny in Sunday’s drawn All-Ireland Semi-Final as he hit four points from play, all of them from either tight angles, long distance, or both. He was also lethal from placed balls as he clinically struck nine frees and one ’65 between the posts.

Mahony’s movement was excellent throughout as he consistently popped up in the right place at the right time and he invariably chose the right option too whenever in possession.

Richie Hogan – Kilkenny

Kilkenny would have been beaten by Waterford on Sunday were it not for the belligerent brilliance of Richie Hogan.

He hit four sublime points from play in the first half as the dropped deep and picked up the ball to great effect in pockets of space.

He was more tightly marked in the second-half by Waterford’s Tadhg de Búrca, but Hogan was still a key player for the Cats as he won a series of frees that kept them in the game at a critical time when Waterford had all the momentum.

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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.