By Jackie Cahill

The cream of the crop.

The nominations the TG4 Players' player of the year awards have been announced and it's hard to argue with the nominees. Unsurprisingly, Dublin dominate the senior grade, while Tipperary are strongly represented in the intermediate section. Louth, London and Fermanagh all have one nomination each in the junior grade. The winners will be revealed at the 2018 TG4 All-Star Awards Banquet, in association with Lidl, which will be held at the Citywest Hotel on Saturday, November 16.

Senior Player of the year

• Sinéad Goldrick (Dublin)
• Siobhán McGrath (Dublin)
• Louise Ward (Galway)

Goldrick and McGrath were named in the 2018 TG4 All Star team, while Goldrick, who scored a crucial goal for Dublin in the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Final victory over Galway as the Sky Blues claimed three-in-a-row, is a previous Senior Players’ Player of the Year nominee from 2012. McGrath and Ward are both nominated for the Senior Players’ Player of the Year award for the first time. Both Goldrick and Ward are preparing for huge games next Sunday, as they line out for their respective clubs in provincial Senior club finals. Goldrick is a key player for Dublin outfit Foxrock-Cabinteely, who are aiming for a fifth straight Leinster Senior title when they tackle Laois representatives Sarsfields. Ward and Kilkerrin-Clonberne, meanwhile, will aim to retain their Connacht crown when they face off against Roscommon outfit Kilbride. All three Senior Players’ Player of the Year nominees have also been nominated for TG4 All Star awards.

Intermediate player of the year

• Monica McGuirk (Meath)
• Aishling Moloney (Tipperary)
• Orla O’Dwyer (Tipperary)

After producing a Player of the Match display in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final, Aishling Moloney is nominated for a Players’ Player of the Year award in this grade. Moloney, who was also nominated for the Intermediate award in 2017, is joined on the three-player shortlist by Tipperary colleague Orla O’Dwyer, and Meath goalkeeper Monica McGuirk. Moloney and McGuirk are also nominated for TG4 All Star awards.

Junior player of the year

• Kate Flood (Louth)
• Hannah Noonan (London)
• Eimear Smyth (Fermanagh)

In the Junior grade, Louth’s TG4 All-Ireland winning captain Kate Flood could be collecting a third Players’ Player of the Year award. Flood, a winner in 2015 and 2018, is nominated again after lifting the West County Hotel for the Wee County at Croke Park on September 15. Flood produced a Player of the Match display in the Final victory over Fermanagh but she faces stiff opposition in the race to be crowned TG4 Junior Players’ Player of the Year. Fermanagh’s prolific young forward Eimear Smyth, who was The Croke Park/LGFA Player of the Month for April, is also nominated, as is Hannah Noonan, a former Dublin player who enjoyed an excellent season for beaten All-Ireland semi-finalists London. The nominees in all three categories have all been selected by their fellow players, who could not vote for their own team-mates.