Patrick Purcell
Laois midfielder Patrick Purcell has been voted GAA.ie Hurler of the Week.
The Rathdowney-Errill club-man produced an absolutely outrageous performance for the Midlanders in their Leinster SHC Round-Robin win over Meath that saw him score 3-5 from play in the first-half alone.
Purcell earned 1,726 votes
on the GAA's Official Twitter (officialgaa), Facebook, and Instagram pages with Tyrone's Damien Casey second and Antrim's Ciaran Clarke third.
GAA.ie Hurler of the Week
1: Patrick Purcell (Laois) - 1726 (43 per cent)
2: Damien Casey (Tyrone) - 1267 (31 per cent)
3: Ciaran Clarke (Antrim) - 1061 (26 per cent)
After Laois’ Leinster SHC Round Robin victory over Meath on Saturday, their manager Eamonn Kelly 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.
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.
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.
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.
