It was a busy weekend for hurling as Laois and Kerry were victorious in the Leinster SHC Round Robin; Antrim and Wicklow qualified for the Christy Ring Cup semi-finals; and Derry and Tyrone won through to the Nicky Rackard Cup semi-finals.

This week’s nominees for GAA.ie Hurler of the Week are Patrick Purcell (Laois), Ciaran Clarke (Antrim), and Damien Casey (Tyrone)

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, May 3 and the winner will be announced on GAA.ie.

GAA.ie Hurler of the Week nominees

Patrick Purcell (Laois)

After Laois’ Leinster SHC Round Robin victory over Meath on Saturday, their manager described Patrick Purcell’s performance as “one of the greatest midfield displays” he could remember.

It’s hard to quibble with that assessment because Purcell was just out of this world as he scored a whopping 3-6 from play, 3-5 of which came in the first-half alone.

It was just an incredible display of pace, power, skill, and absolutely ruthless finishing from the Rathdowney-Errill club-man.

Ciaran Clarke (Antrim)

Ciaran Clarke’s predatory instincts were to the fore for Antrim in their Christy Ring Cup victory over Down on Saturday.

His goal was lesson to young forwards in why you should always be anticipating an opportunity as he intercepted a short-puck before finishing emphatically to the back of the net.

His accuracy from frees also played a big part in Antrim’s win, as he finished with a personal tally of 1-7.

Damien Casey (Tyrone)

Tyrone’s 4-19 to 0-16 win over Donegal on Saturday that sealed a Nicky Rackard semi-final berth was arguably the result of the weekend because it represented a 38-point turnaround from their Allianz HL Division 3A Final defeat to the same opposition which they lost by 23 points.

Full-forward Damien Casey was on fire both from open play and frees as he registered an individual tally of 1-10, 1-4 of which was from play.

His goal was beautifully taken as he won possession, out-paced the Donegal defence, and rifled the ball to the bottom corner of the net.

• 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.**