The Gaelic Players' Association has revealed the official nominees for the 2006 Opel Gaelic Players Awards for hurling. A total of 45 players have been named on the shortlist for the Opel Gaelic Team of the Year, with five players nominated for the Opel Gaelic Player of the Year award. The shortlist contains three players for each position. All-Ireland champions Kilkenny have received nine nominees, while vanquished finalists Cork lead the honours list with 13 players in contention. All-Ireland semi-finalists Clare and Waterford received six and seven nominations respectively. Players from Wexford, Offaly, Limerick, Galway and Westmeath have also been nominated. The five nominees for the player of the year accolade are: Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny), Donal Óg Cusack (Cork), Ronan Curran (Cork), Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny) and James Fitzpatrick (Kilkenny). The shortlists were drawn up by a selection committee consisting of Donal O'Grady, Cyril Farrell, Dominic McKinley and Michael Duignan. The winners will be selected by GPA members, all of whom have been issued with voting cards. GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell said: "The inaugural Opel Gaelic Team of the Year for hurling will see 15 individuals selected from today's nominations by their peers. "The player of the year will receive an Opel car valued at €25,000 and the hurlers selected for the team of the year will each receive €2,500." Shortlist for Opel Gaelic Team of the Year: 1. James McGarry (Kilkenny), Davy Fitzgerald(Clare), Donal Óg Cusack (Cork) 2. Damien Reale (Limerick), Gerry O'Grady (Clare), Eoin Murphy (Waterford) 3. Paul Curran(Tipperary), Tom Feeney (Waterford), Diarmuid O'Sullivan (Cork) 4. Brian Murphy (Cork), Keith Rossiter (Wexford), Frank Lohan (Clare) 5. John Gardiner (Cork), Eoin Corcoran(Tipperary) Tony Browne (Waterford) 6. Ronan Curran (Cork), Seánie McMahon (Clare), Ken McGrath (Waterford) 7. Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny), Mark Foley (Limerick), Seán Óg Ó hAilpín (Cork) 8/9 Jerry O'Connor (Cork), Tom Kenny (Cork), Shane McGrath (Tipperary), Michael Walsh (Waterford), James "Cha" Fitzpatrick (Kilkenny), Derek Lyng (Kilkenny) 10. Dan Shanahan (Waterford), Eddie Brennan (Kilkenny), Timmy McCarthy (Cork) 11. Tony Carmody (Clare), Niall McCarthy (Cork), Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny) 12. Andrew Mitchell (Westmeath), Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny), Martin Comerford (Kilkenny) 13. Damien Hayes (Galway), Ben O'Connor (Cork), John Mullane (Waterford) 14. Brian Corcoran (Cork), Eoin Kelly (Tipperary), Joe Bergin (Offaly) 15. Joe Deane (Cork), Tony Griffin (Clare), Aidan Fogarty (Kilkenny) Tweet

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