There were nine first-time winners and All-Ireland champions Tyrone took eight in total as the 2021 PwC Football All-Stars were announced this evening on RTÉ One.
Tyrone, who claimed their first All-Ireland title since 2008 in September, were represented in every line in the field, with a total monopoly on the half-back line where first-time winners Conor Meyler and Kieran McGeary were selected alongside the experienced Peter Harte.
Elsewhere, All-Ireland finalists Mayo took three slots, Lee Keegan earning his fifth award of a stellar career.
Kerry, stunned in the delayed All-Ireland semi-final by the Red Hands, also had three players selected, as the Clifford brothers were both picked in the forward division.
Dethroned champions Dublin had to make do with one spot, Ciaran Kilkenny earning the nod in a year when other teams took centre-stage.
1. Niall Morgan (Tyrone)
His kick-out percentages were questioned after Tyrone's surprise win over Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final, though that criticism, as he argued afterwards, failed to appreciate the Ulster champions' objectives in that department and their determination to go long.
Morgan emerged triumphant in the final, delivering an unruffled performance and knocking over three points from placed balls for good measure. A typically raking long kickout, brilliantly claimed by Conn Kilpatrick, set in chain the move for Tyrone's killer second goal.
His pointed long-range free, from practically the halfway line, just before half-time against Kerry had to be seen to be believed.
2. Padraig Hampsey (Tyrone)
A second All-Star for Tyrone's captain, now revered as one of the finest man-markers in the game.
The Coalisland player has typically been assigned to keep tabs on the opposition's most dangerous attackers, restricting Thomas Galligan, Michael Murphy and Conor McManus to a cumulative total of 0-02 from play in Tyrone's Ulster championship campaign.
In addition to all this, he managed to get forward himself and score fine points early in both semi-final and final.
3. Lee Keegan (Mayo)
A fifth All-Star award for Keegan and his first since 2016, the year he also took home the Footballer of the Year prize. Keegan remains an irrepressible, untameable presence in the Mayo defence. Along with Stephen Coen, he was one of a few Mayo players exempt from the malaise that struck down the team in the All-Ireland final.
Even as the game began to slip away and Mayo hearts sank in the stand, Keegan continued to rage against defeat, responding to Darren McCurry's second-half goal by swerving over a rallying point and then raiding forward to win a handy free.
At 32, time is fast running out for the Westport great to get his hands on an All-Ireland medal but, whatever happens, he has established himself as one of the greatest Mayo players of them all.
4. Tom O'Sullivan (Kerry)
A second All-Star for O'Sullivan, who first took home an award in 2019. It's been a frustrating few years for Kerry, marked by false starts and rude awakenings, but the Dingle player has been a consistently excellent performer, since shining on his first championship start against Monaghan in Clones in 2018.
Like his colleagues in the full-back line, he is able to combine the role of tigerish man-marker with marauding attacker. His marking rendered Tyrone's marksman Darren McCurry a virtual passenger in the first half of the semi-final - before the Edendork player belatedly came alive in the closing stretch.
O'Sullivan raided upfield to clip a point in the semi-final, having notched 0-02 in the slaughter of Cork in Killarney.
5. Conor Meyler (Tyrone)
A Footballer of the Year nominee alongside Keegan and Kieran McGeary, Meyler could equally have been named at wing-forward, though in Tyrone the half-backs and half-forwards are famously interchangeable.
The 27-year old Omagh man was feted in 2021 for his diligent marking, his expert use of possession and his tireless running. He unselfishly devoted himself to the task of limiting the impact of flyers like Ryan McHugh and Paudie Clifford.
6. Kieran McGeary (Tyrone)
Another Footballer of the Year nominee, McGeary was selected as the Sunday Game panel's Player of the Season. He was captain under Logan and Dooher when the Tyrone U21s won a tempestuous All-Ireland final against Tipperary in 2015 and, six years later, was also pivotal in their senior success.
A perfect exemplar of the modern Tyrone footballer, McGeary was an energetic presence in the Tyrone half-back line, a ferocious tackler also able to saunter forward and clip scores, as he did against both Kerry and Mayo.
7. Peter Harte (Tyrone)
Tyrone monopolise the half-back line. Along with Mattie Donnelly, Harte is one of the most experienced soldiers in the Tyrone side, having arrived into the set-up shortly after the noughties burst of success had concluded. Fortunately, he battled through the transitional period to reach the summit again.
An All-Star at wing-forward in 2016, Harte is handed the No 7 position on this All-Star selection, although stressing the distinction between the roles feels redundant when it comes to Tyrone.
A key figure in Tyrone's counter-attacking game, his most memorable intervention was taking a pivotal mark late in the All-Ireland final to halt a brief Mayo rally and put four points between the sides. In the semi, he executed a wonderful block on Killian Spillane when the Kerry attacker pulled the trigger. He exemplified Tyrone's spirit.
8. Brian Kennedy (Tyrone)
Tyrone's previously unheralded midfield was pegged as a weakness prior to the All-Ireland series but Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick came good on the big stage.
Kennedy, from Derrylaughan, just edges out his midfield colleague to the All-Star award. Made his mark early in the season when powering forward to score the only goal as Tyrone dethroned the Ulster champions Cavan in Kinspan Breffni.
Brian Dooher was anxious to extol the pair's contribution in the bowels of Croke Park after the All-Ireland was won. "Brian Kennedy, to me, had an exceptional performance there. We knew it was in him," said Dooher.
9. Matthew Ruane (Mayo)
Was touted as a likely Footballer of the Year contender before Mayo's dispiriting malfunction on the big day. The Ballyhaunis midfielder was one of those who endured a difficult afternoon on 12 September, his misery complete after a late sending off following a tussle with Conn Kilpatrick.
Still, his dominant and powerful displays against Dublin and Galway demand his inclusion in the Team of the Year. It's a first All-Star for Ruane who is sure to be a central figure for Mayo in years to come.
10. Niall Sludden (Tyrone)
Particularly effective in the All-Ireland final, Sludden was a shoo-in for a first All-Star, the only debate being where to locate him.
The industrious Dromore player is another of those Tyrone footballers who gets everywhere. He was perhaps at his best in the first half of the All-Ireland final, slipping over two points from play at one end and blocking a Conor Loftus shot off the line at the other.
11. Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
In stunning form for much of the year, running riot through the league and early championship, Clifford found the going harder under severe pressure from Tyrone in the semi-final.
He was an electric presence in the Kerry forward line when they ran amok against Galway in the league and Cork in the championship. Clifford still managed to rustle up 0-02 despite labouring under the close attention of the Tyrone defence in the semi-final. A first All-Star for the East Kerry player.
12. Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)
2021 may have been the year when Dublin finally met their Waterloo but Ciaran Kilkenny was as serenely effective as ever for much of the campaign.
The Castleknock player clipped over 0-13 across four matches and was especially impressive as the Dubs eventually accounted for both Meath and Kildare in the Leinster championship. He had three points on the board and was directing operations as usual when the Dubs led by six at half-time against Mayo. Before it all went south.
It's a fifth All-Star for Kilkenny, who has been unlucky to miss out on a Footballer of the Year award in the past.
13. Darren McCurry (Tyrone)
A first All-Star for 'The Dazzler', McCurry wasn't even part of Tyrone's squad for the 2018 All-Ireland final, having dropped off the panel in order to re-discover his form.
Three years later, he was Man of the Match in the decider, scoring 1-04, 1-02 from play. Arguably, McCurry's best football was played in the Ulster championship, where he registered 0-10 against Cavan, 0-07 against Donegal and 0-05 against Monaghan, with fully half of the scores coming from play.
Ineffective for most of the semi-final, he came good late on and in extra-time to clip over some vital scores before his MOTM effort on the biggest stage. The Dazzler was most definitely back.
14. David Clifford (Kerry)
Bizarrely, he only managed 0-01 from a free as Kerry ran riot against Cork, running up an indecent tally of 4-22. Their most celebrated forward barely managed to involve himself in the scoring spree.
It was in the far more testing environment of the semi-final where Clifford, almost alone among the Kerry forwards, shone. The East Kerry superstar ran up 0-08, 0-06 from play, under the most suffocating pressure - while his teammates were gasping for air.
His injury in the closing stages of normal time was a grievous blow to Kerry's chances. Even when hobbling, he still manufactured and scored a free to force extra-time.
Will be anxious to get the All-Ireland medal, though Maurice Fitzgerald, another galactico, only got his hands on a Celtic Cross in his 10th season.
15. Ryan O'Donoghue (Mayo)
In the aftermath of the final, the photographers zoomed in on O'Donoghue in tears, being consoled by Aidan O'Shea. His penalty miss in the second half was a pivotal moment, after which the game swung away from Mayo.
But it hadn't been forgotten that the Belmullet enjoyed a terrific season. In the absence of Cillian O'Connor, he'd assumed free-taking duties and emerged as Mayo's leading marksman, scoring 2-27 in total and finishing joint-second in the scorers charts with McCurry.
