Roper and Prendergast chosen for GPA awards

Donegal footballer Brian Roper and Waterford hurler Seamus Prendergast have been chosen as the winners for the first Opel Gaelic Player of the Month awards for 2007.

The players have been honoured for their efforts in helping their respective counties to victory in last month's National Football and Hurling League finals.

Donegal won their first ever NFL title, beating Mayo in the final, while Waterford swept past defending champions Kilkenny to win the hurling decider for the first time since 1963.

New chairman of the GPA awards' football selection committee, Jack O'Connor, saluted the contribution of Roper, the impish 31-year-old centre forward.

"Brian was a bundle of energy throughout the campaign and he was hugely influential in laying the foundation for the team's success over Mayo in the final," said O'Connor, the former Kerry manager.

"Brian is a real team player who is always willing to sacrifice his own game for the good of the team and on this occasion we saw that selfless side plus his ability to get scores.

"He fired over three valuable points from play in the first half and when the game was there to be won late on, he put his body on the line in the dramatic closing stages - a deserving winner for a loyal servant of Donegal football."

Chairman of the hurling selection committee, Donal O'Grady, was fulsome in his praise for Prendergast and the achievements of the Waterford hurlers so far this year.

"Waterford were a breath of fresh air in the league with the way they went about their business and Seamus Prendergast was at the core of their infectious enthusiasm," said former Cork boss O'Grady.

"In the league semi-final against Cork, Seamus proved a handful in their rotating forward division. He was the same in the final against Kilkenny, in which he hit three points from play.

"What was particularly noticeable was the way he knuckled down to the task when the going got tough in the closing minutes. The steely resolve in which he fired over the clinching point in injury-time smacked of a man on a mission."

Big Ardmore man Prendergast struck three vital points from play in the league final win over Kilkenny and he will hope to bring his excellent form into the championship season.

Commenting on the two award winners and their counties' achievements, Gaelic Players Association chief executive Dessie Farrell added: "The victories of Donegal and Waterford in the leagues were hugely exciting for both counties and helped boost the profile of the competitions.

"As both have suffered their fair share of defeats recently, I'm delighted to see Brian and Seamus honoured for their contributions in winning a national title."