Mullane secures awards double

Waterford forward John Mullane has received a further boost ahead of Sunday's Munster SHC final against Tipperary, with his selection as the Vodafone GAA Hurler of the Month for June.

The De La Salle clubman was recognised by his fellow players yesterday, when honoured as the OPEL GPA Hurler of the month.

And today's announcements saw Antrim footballer Michael McCann and Mullane confirmed as the Vodafone GAA Players of the Month awards, following outstanding displays for their sides in June.

Cargin clubman McCann picked up his award for a powerful performance for Antrim on the way to their first Ulster final appearance in 39 years, on Sunday week at St Tiernach's Park, Clones.

The 24-year-old was instrumental in ensuring victories over favourites Donegal and Cavan in the quarter and semi-finals of the Ulster Championship.

McCann’s versatility has been one of the features of his outstanding displays so far this season.

He anchored Antrim superbly from midfield in the surprise victory over Donegal, scoring 0-1 in the process, and was then selected to play at full-forward against Cavan and finished the semi-final with two points to his name.

The 29-year-old Mullane, despite eight sterling seasons already under his belt for Waterford, is picking up his first and long overdue Vodafone monthly award following an outstanding start to the Championship campaign.

The Deise ace has been one of the stars of the season so far, scoring ten points in just two games - four in the drawn game with Limerick on June 14 and six more sublime points in the replay the following weekend as he inspired Waterford to an eight-point victory.

Mullane made his Championship debut against Cork in 2001 and since then has gone on to play 35 times for his county, picking up three Munster titles and playing in one All-Ireland final.

Despite his county’s heavy defeat to Kilkenny in that sole All-Ireland final appearance last year, he still managed to stand out and took a lot of credit from the match as he scored three points from play.

He gained no small measure of consolation at the back end of last year as he led by example when captaining his club to the Munster SHC Club title, scoring the only goal in the final victory over Adare of Limerick.