A HAUL OF at least six points for Kilkenny attacker Henry Shefflin in next Sunday’s All-Ireland senior hurling final is likely to ensure that he will finish as top scorer for the 2012 championship.
Shefflin’s 0-11 return in the semi-final success against Tipperary has taken his overall total for the season to 3-35 (44) and leaves him in third place on the national charts behind Cork’s Patrick Horgan 1-42 (45) and the current leader Limerick’s Shane Dowling 4-37 (49). With neither Horgan or Dowling in action this weekend, Shefflin is in prime position to bag the accolade.
Galway’s Joe Canning is the only other player involved in next Sunday’s final to still be in the frame with a total of 1-32 (35) to his name. Canning’s unavailability due to injury in Galway’s Leinster championship opener against Westmeath affected his overall scoring return as he has only featured in three clashes this summer – the provincial semi-final against Offaly, the provincial final against Kilkenny and the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork.
Canning is currently in joint fourth place in the scoring charts along with Tipperary’s Pa Bourke who has notched 2-29 (35). But the Portumna forward would need to strike at least 15 points next Sunday and better Shefflin’s scoring salvo in the same match by at least ten points in order to bag top spot.
There is no other player that will feature in Croke Park next Sunday that is currently in the top ten list of national scorers. In tenth place is Waterford’s Maurice Shanahan with a total of 0-24 but Galway David Burke with 4-6 (18) to his name to date may have an outside chance of squeezing into the frame. The next best placed players after Shefflin in the Kilkenny line-up both have 13 points with Richie Power having amassed 1-10 and TJ Reid firing 3-4.
The full list of the top 10 senior hurling championship scorers for 2012 is:
1. Shane Dowling (Limerick) – 4-37 (49) – (4-8 from play)
2. Patrick Horgan (Cork) – 1-42 (45) – (1-12 from play)
3. Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny) – 3-35 (44) – (3-4 from play)
4. Joe Canning (Galway) – 1-32 (35) – (1-9 from play)
4. Pa Bourke (Tipperary – 2-29 (35) – (2-5 from play)
6. Shane Dooley (Offaly) – 4-21 (33) – (2-5 from play)
7. Willie Hyland (Laois) – 1-26 (29) – (1-8 from play)
8. Diarmuid Lyng (Wexford) – 1-25 (28) – (1-9 from play)
9. Niall O’Brien (Westmeath) – 2-20 (26) – (2-3 from play)
10. Maurice Shanahan (Waterford) – 0-24 (24) – (0-4 from play)
