Waterford’s goalkeeper deserves an All-Star. Full stop.

What more is the man supposed to do?

While others are judged by medals and semi-final appearances, he’s being judged by circumstances completely outside his control.

And that’s the problem with the All-Stars sometimes — they become team achievement awards instead of individual recognition.

The award is supposed to honour the best players in the country. Not the players lucky enough to be surrounded by the strongest panel. Not the players whose counties made finals. The best individual performers. And if anyone watched Waterford this year they would have seen the outrageous saves he made from Mark Rodgers,Shane O’Donnell the one with his foot from John McGrath he also saved two penalties!

Without him, Waterford could have suffered absolute hammerings. Instead, he gave them a fighting chance every single day.

How can a goalkeeper dominate games the way he has and still be ignored because the forwards missed chances or because the team fell short collectively?

If this exact same level of performance came from a keeper on an All-Ireland finalist, the media would already be engraving his name on the award.

But because he wears Waterford colours, suddenly the standards change.

That’s not fairness. That’s bias toward successful teams.

The All-Stars should reward excellence, bravery, consistency, and elite performance under pressure. And no goalkeeper has carried a heavier burden this year than Waterford’s goalkeeper. He has been outstanding in defeat, outstanding in chaos, and outstanding when his team needed him most.

Punishing a goalkeeper because his county didn’t progress is lazy analysis. The man can’t score the points as well.

An All-Star is meant to recognise greatness. And greatness doesn’t disappear just because the rest of the team falls short.