After a hurling season of no great surprises get ready for more of the same. All-Ireland champions Kilkenny have topped the list of hurling All Star winners, with seven players honoured on the 2015 team, three more than beaten finalists Galway.

Only two other counties get a look in, with three Waterford players honoured, plus the one from Tipperary – both those counties being the beaten All-Ireland semi-finalists.

Still, this representation of just four counties is a relatively decent spread in the awards scheme now jointly presented by the GAA and the GPA, and sponsored by Opel.

Last year, only three counties were represented, the joint lowest since the awards scheme began 44 years ago. On that occasion, Kilkenny were actually eclipsed by beaten finalists Tipperary, who won seven awards, compared to Kilkenny’s six.

No such disputing Kilkenny’s dominance this time. There will always be some talk of winners and losers when it comes to All Stars, and there may also be some light criticism of the selection, and yet none of the winners can be greeted with any objection, irrefutable or otherwise.

Evenly spread

Kilkenny’s winners are evenly spread throughout the field, too: corner back Paul Murphy wins his fourth All Star, while All-Ireland-winning captain and full back Joey Holden wins his first; wing back Cillian Buckley wins his second All Star, while midfielder Michael Fennelly wins his third; Richie Hogan and TJ Reid both win a third All Star in the half forward line, while Ger Aylward wins his first All Star at corner forward.

The four Galway players honoured on the 2015 selection begin with goalkeeper Colm Callanan, who wins his first All Star at age 33 – and also becomes Galway’s only second ever hurling goalkeeper All Star, after John Commins (1988/1989). Daithí Burke also wins his first All Star at wing back, with midfielder David Burke winning his second (having been previously honoured in 2012, at wing forward).

Galway’s fourth All Star goes to 20 year-old forward Cathal Mannion, who is also honoured for the first time. Mannion actually had a couple of young team -mates also vying for one of those forward positions, especially the likes of Jason Flynn and Jonathan Glynn – both also nominated – although it was Mannion who got the nod by the selection committee, made up of media representatives from print, TV and radio.

Seven of the 2015 winners are actually first time recipients, including two of Waterford’s three players: centre back Tadhg de Búrca, and full forward Maurice Shanahan.

Corner back Noel Connors wins his second All Star, five years after winning his first. It’s certainly no surprise that two-thirds of Waterford’s winners come in the defence, given that was a key component of their success this season, firstly in winning the league, and then in progressing to the All-Ireland semi-final.

Indeed so much of Waterford’s game this season relied on the defensive graft which Connors offered in abundance.

So to Tipperary’s sole winner, full forward Séamus Callanan, his 5-20 in three games the highest average of any player in the championship. Callanan is also one of only five survivors from 2014 selection. Given Tipperary won seven All Stars last year (one more than Kilkenny) this might be considered a disappointing return, although not necessarily justifiably so. Callanan is also the only non-Kilkenny player to receive awards in both 2015 and 2014.

The four counties represented all made it to the All-Ireland semi-final stages. This is perhaps further indication of an increasingly elitist senior game, particularly when it comes to championship: and whatever about the actual winners, only seven counties also ended up getting players nominated in 2015, two less than the nine counties nominated for awards in 2014.

What sets Kilkenny’s winning players apart more than any other recent season is that two of them were first-time winners. Aylward was certainly unheralded coming into 2015, yet ended up scoring 3-15, all but five from play. Holden had been given the unenviable task of filling the boots of JJ Delaney, and also assumed the Kilkenny captaincy, and yet he too rose to the responsibilities with consummate ease.

Back injury

Fennelly wins his third All Star largely on the back of his man-of-the-match display at midfield in the All-Ireland final, although considering he was also suffering with a back injury for much of the summer, it’s a wonder he even made it that far. He also hit two points in the final showdown against Galway, including one of those coffin-nailing ones at the death.

Likewise with last year’s hurler of the year Richie Hogan, who could only train in patches, yet still scored 1-16 in his four matches, that consistency another of the reasons why Kilkenny earned All-Ireland title number 36.

”These awards are earned on the back of sublime performances which are the by-product of incredible commitment to the game,” said GAA president Aogán ó Fearghail.

“The recipients light up our summer and provide our young players and supporters with role models to aspire to. The awards are richly deserved as is the status that accompanies them.”

Reid, Hogan and Callanan remain in contention for 2015 hurler of the year – that award announced live on RTÉ One television on tomorrow night, as part of the awards banquet.

Reid however remains the frontrunner for that honour, and with that completing the perfect season for the Ballyhale Shamrocks player, at both club and county; his 4-32 in four games tells only part of his role in the Kilkenny machine

The 2015 football selection will also be announced live tomorrow night, as indeed will the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year winners in both codes (those awards voted on by the GPA membership).