Vikki Wall named as 2021 TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year

Eoin Ryan

Vikki Wall, Emma Duggan, and Emma Troy all earned their votes at the annual All Star banquet, in association with Lidl, at Dublin’s Bonnington Hotel on Saturday night.

Wall also claimed a first TG4 All Star award on the night, one of eight Meath players named in the final 15. The nominees in all three categories have all been selected by their fellow players, who could not vote for their own team-mates. Wall was the 2020 TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year winner and was the most prominent choice among her peers this year after bumping up to senior level.

Seven of the eight Meath players nominated are first-time winners, on the back of an historic season which saw the Royals win an All-Ireland title.In total, there are 12 first-time winners on the 2021 TG4 All Star team, with McGuirk and Kearns the only repeats from the 2019 selection.

Goalkeeper Monica McGuirk wins a second TG4 All-Star award after her successes in 2019, while team-mates Emma Troy, Mary Kate Lynch, Aoibhín Cleary, Máire O’Shaughnessy, Niamh O’Sullivan, Vikki Wall and Emma Duggan are first-time recipients.

The 2021 TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year award went to Westmeath’s Sarah Dillon.

Vikki Wall was Player of the Match in the 2021 All-Ireland senior final for Meath, and also the 2020 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year. Emma Duggan  scored 3-19 during the championship run, and a crucial goal for Meath against Dublin, while Emma Troy kept the line on the defensive side for the Royal County. All three ladies earned their nominations after a sensational run leading to an underdog victory for the ages and their opponents saw it this way as well.