Waterford’s Shane Bennett has further gilded his growing reputation by coming out on top with a dominant victory in this week’s GAA.ie Hurling Player of the Week vote.

The Ballysaggart clubman was outstanding for Waterford when they defeated Limerick in Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League semi-final to set up a Final showdown with Clare.

For his sparkling individual display in that match he was duly rewarded with an impressive 48 per cent of the votes cast on the GAA’s official Twitter, (@officialgaa), Facebook and Instagram pages.

That left him well clear of Clare duo Colm Galvin and Aaron Cunningham who were separated themselves by just a handful of votes.

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GAA.ie HURLINGPLAYER OF THE WEEK

1: Shane Bennett (Waterford) – 1257 (48 per cent)
2: Colm Galvin (Clare) – 682 (24 per cent)
3: Aaron Cunningham – 672 (24 per cent)

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Waterford’s rise to prominence in the last couple of years has been built an emerging generation of talented young hurlers, and **Shane Bennett **is quickly developing into one of the picks of that bunch. When you watch him play it is hard to imagine he is still only 19 and sat his Leaving Cert last year. That’s because his decision making on the pitch is so mature and his movement so intelligent. He scored 1-3 against Limerick on Sunday, and the penalty he won himself and then dispatched to the back of the net venomously was a real game-breaker. Bennett is an absolute nightmare to defend against because he is a brilliant ball-winner and when he gets it his first instinct is always to run straight at opposition defences and test them to the absolute limit.

In second place with 24 per cent was Clare’s Colm Galvin. Like many of Clare’s young players, Galvin’s performance graph dipped slightly after their successful 2013 All-Ireland Championship campaign. But he was back to his very best on Sunday as he took the Kilkenny defence apart with his speed, bravery, and clinical finishing. Galvin hit five points from play in a brilliant individual performance, but it was more than his scoring that caught the eye. He wore the number 11 jersey on his back but roamed all over the pitch to great effect and got on a huge amount of ball. And when he won it he always seemed to use it wisely. When the shooting option was not on, he invariably found a colleague with a well delivered pass. He looks more physically robust now than he did in 2013, and is primed for a massive summer campaign.

Aaron Cunningham also won 24 per cent of the total vote, but had 10 less individual votes than Galvin so was edged into third. Cunningham’s display in Sunday’s League semi-final win over Kilkenny was as clinical display of sniping as we’ve seen all year. He scored 2-3 from play, and the coolness with which he dispatched all of his scores bore the hallmarks of a natural born finisher. The ability to drift into dangerous pockets of space and then back yourself to go for goal when the opportunity arises is an instinctive rather than learned ability, and Cunningham is blessed with it. He is more than just a finisher though. He is a speedy and hard-working half-forward who does his share of donkey-work further out the field.

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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