Seanie Johnston named GAA.ie Footballer of the Week
Seanie Johnston
Cavan attacker Seanie Johnston has just about edged this week’s GAA.ie Footballer of the Week vote.
In his first Championship match for the Breffni County in five years he produced a storming display in their impressive Ulster Quarter-Final victory over Armagh on Sunday.
He was duly rewarded with 40 per cent of the votes cast on the GAA's official Twitter (@officialgaa), Facebook and Instagram pages.
That saw him just about pip Mayo’s Evan Regan on 39 per cent into second-place, with Tipperary’s George Hannigan in third place with a respectable 21 per cent of the vote.
GAA.ie Footballer of the week
1: Seanie Johnston (Cavan) – 2519 (40 per cent)
2: Evan Regan (Mayo) – 2463 (39 per cent)
3: George Hannigan (Tipperary) – 1292 (21 per cent)
There was a good deal of pressure weighing on Seanie Johnston's shoulders going into Sunday's Ulster SFC Quarter-Final against Armagh. It was his first Championship match in five years for his native county after his controversial stint playing for Kildare, and all eyes were upon him.
So it says a lot about his mental strength as well as his footballing ability that he was able to produce a brilliant individual performance despite the pressure he was playing under.
His knack for drifting into pockets of space to pick up possession and then do something telling with it made him a constant thorn in Armagh's side. He scored three really classy points from play and four from frees too. His return is a major boon for Cavan football and he’ll be key man in their Ulster semi-final against Cavan.
Evan Regan has already been crowned GAA.ie Football Player of the Week once already this year, so it's a testimony to his consistency that he made the short-list again and came within a single percentage point of topping the vote.
The Ballina Stephenites man seems keen to make up for the time he lost last year when he suffered two broken collar-bones in the space of two weeks, and the cutting edge he is giving Mayo in the full-forward line has added a new dimension to their play.
He scored seven points against London on Sunday, five of them frees, and constantly troubled the London defence with his ability to win ball and use his speed and agile twisting and turning to drive straight for goal.
It is well documented now that the Tipperary footballers have been seriously weakened by defections from their panel as well as injuries, so it was a major boost for them to have George Hannigan back in harness on Sunday as he made his return from his own injury woes.
The dynamic midfielder has played very little football for the best part of a year because of groin and thumb injuries, so the quality of his performance against Waterford was all the more impressive because of that.
He scored three great points and drove Tipperary forward from midfield with his ability to win ball, break tackles, and use possession wisely.
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
