It’s a peculiar league system where one of the six teams play two games less than four of the five others, but that’s exactly how it panned out in division 1A this year. Waterford ended their campaign a lot earlier than Kilkenny and Cork, who played out a surprisingly one sided final last Sunday in Semple Stadium, while Dublin and Galway at least had the benefit of a high class pair of fixtures to decide who made the drop to Division 1B. As a result some teams are better exposed than others, but based on what we’ve seen, here’s the Starbets rundown on the leading contenders for the All Ireland title and how their league performances grade in our estimation.

Kilkenny – A

Sunday’s performance brought about a spectacular upgrade since the Cats had been a bit hit and miss up to this point, but their demolition job on a decent Cork team has seen their odds plummet to a best price of 4/5 in the market, which is nearly as short as they’ve ever been at this time of year. The injury to Michael Fennelly is another concern for Brian Cody hot on the heels of injuries to Richie Power, Michael Rice and the long term absence of Henry Shefflin, but their best performance of the Spring came with all of these key men absent, while supposedly “fringe” players like Paddy Hogan, Richie Doyle, TJ Reid, Cillian Buckley and Colin Fennelly came up trumps.

Our view here at Starbets is that 4/5 is a bit short – after all there is every chance that if Kilkenny are to win the All Ireland, they’ll have to go through all four of the other five counties rated as the main contenders in the betting – but right now, they’re in as good a place as Brian Cody could hope for and so they’d have to get an A grade.

Cork – C

So much of the league went so well for Jimmy Barry Murphy’s men, but unlike Kilkenny, injuries are not as easily dealt with down by the Lee. Dónal Óg Cusack is arguably the most influential goalkeeper ever to wield a camán and Martin Coleman turned out to be a poor replacement last Sunday. More importantly, several of their frontline starters were badly exposed and while some of that could be put down to a bad day, the result calls into question a lot of what was achieved during the regular season. Waterford were clearly in bad shape when the two counties met in the first round, and the visit of Kilkenny to Páirc Uí Chaoimh is clearly to be taken with a pinch of salt now too. Take all that away and there’s not much left.

Tipperary – D

A D grade may seem harsh for a team that finished third in the league, but aside from a comprehensive dismissal of a poor Waterford team, Tipperary never got going in this campaign and if they are genuinely second favourites for the All Ireland title, then they clearly have been keeping a lot in reserve. Frankly, this league campaign defies further analysis – Tipperary played with experimental teams throughout, few of their less proven players made a real impact but the real test will only come in the Munster championship when they are all hands on deck again.

Waterford – D

Waterford displayed an immaculate sense of timing in this league campaign, producing one good performance when they needed it most in Galway, before beating Dublin at home when Anthony Daly’s men had nothing to play for. Staying in Division 1A is a huge boost to the county but they proved how far off the pace they are in their games against the traditional powers and clearly are still hugely dependent on Eoin Kelly and John Mullane if they are to contend for a Munster title. The news that Pauric Mahony is now set to miss the entire summer is a huge blow and realistically Waterford are not so much hiding in the long grass as much as they are hiding in the Amazonian rain forest right now.

Galway – B

It was a Spring of ups and downs for the Tribesmen, who started well against Dublin, put in two very solid performances against Tipperary and Cork before ending the regular season with two disastrous outings against Waterford and Kilkenny. However the relegation battles with Dublin were the making of their season and now Anthony Cunningham is entitled to feel reasonably optimistic about the prospects of success for his young panel. Joe Canning’s form remains critical to their cause – his second half display in Tullamore is the only reason Galway didn’t go down to Division 1B – but as is by now customary for this time of year, Galway seem to be in a very good place.

Dublin – D

Dublin hurled well this Spring and can feel somewhat unfortunate to have gone down after playing well in basically every match, other than week one against Galway and their dead rubber game against Waterford. Nonetheless this league campaign also highlighted the limitations in the Dublin attack and the deficiencies that need to be addressed before taking on Kilkenny in the championship. Conal Keaney remains their star man and all this league campaign did is prove how badly he is needed. Elsewhere they are well able to win ball and their working of possession up the field is good, but with the exception of one freak day against Kilkenny, they never scored more than 23 points during the Spring. In modern hurling when the average winning total in the championship is 24 points, that simply won’t do.

This weekend there is a wide variety of action taking place all across the country, including club games and an All Ireland under-21 final in Tullamore. We’ll start our football round up by looking at that underage clash, which is expected to be a walk in the park for the Dubs, and then also have a look at the Cork senior championship, where the action starts tomorrow evening.

All Ireland U21 Football Final

Not for the first time, Roscommon footballers find themselves at the business end of an All Ireland championship despite not having done all that much to get there. So far this year they beat Mayo after extra time at home, they beat a poor Sligo side that had only played Leitrim up to that point, and they dug deep to beat Cavan in Longford, although Cavan will be hugely disappointed that they produced such a bad performance at such a crucial time. Contrast that with Cavan themselves, that beat three very strong opponents in the shape of Armagh, Derry and Tyrone, but are out. Tyrone beat Fermanagh, Donegal and Down but don’t even have a provincial title to show for their efforts while Offaly beat two good teams in Meath and Kildare just to reach the same stage of the competition that Roscommon were at before they even kicked a ball.

Obviously Roscommon themselves aren’t responsible for a system that asks so much less of them, but the point is that nothing they’ve done suggests that they are ready for the challenge of taking on a Dublin team that has been utterly outstanding in every game so far. Since showing great character to get their season underway against a good Wexford team they’ve gone from strength to strength and have put teams at least as good as this Roscommon outfit to the sword. Many of their 2011 minors will know of the dangers of underestimating a weaker county in an All Ireland final after being stunned by Tipperary last year and it’s notable that the four point lines have all but disappeared. Only William Hill remains, and Starbets followers would do well to take that handicap bet while it lasts.

Cork SFC

Nemo Rangers start as favourites yet again and rightly so, and they should get off to a good start against Bishopstown. Nonetheless there are a few strong contenders within the county who could rattle them. At the head of any such list would have to be Castlehaven, who lost last year’s county final to UCC. Castlehaven suffered a disappointing reverse against Bantry Blues in the under-21 championship recently and with so much expected of their young footballers this was a blow, but they still should have too much for Aghada in the first round.

Carbery Rangers vs Clonakilty in Dunmanway on Sunday evening could be the clash of the round and in what should be a fiercely contested local derby, a young Clonakilty team could be outgunned. Clonakilty have made a lot of chances to the side that won the county title in 2009 and even though they’ve enticed Padraig Griffin out of retirement, they don’t have enough players in their late twenties to help along what is a very young group. They’ve been sheltered in the league playing in Division two but they should be exposed on Sunday against Carbery who are at their peak and moving well.

Finally, round off the treble with St Finbarrs, who should have very little trouble with Newmarket tomorrow evening. The Barrs have gone very well in recent years while Newmarket will be doing well to avoid relegation – anything less than a comfortable win for the favourites here would be a massive shock.

Weekend Football Recommendations

Dublin vs Roscommon (U21): Dublin -4pts @ evens (Hills)

Cork SFC: Castlehaven, Carbery Rangers and St Finbarrs all to win @ 6/4 approx (Powers, Hills)

Two of the four counties aiming to reach the All Ireland under-21 football championship final tomorrow afternoon are featuring at this stage of the competition for the second year in a row, but only Cavan out of the two are favoured to progress, while Cork are clear underdogs against Dublin. Dublin will undoubtedly have the bulk of the support in O’Moore Park since their hurlers will bring plenty of sky blue clad supporters to flesh out the crowd, but even so the value could be with the Munster champions, who have come through a tough Munster final against their old rivals from the Kingdom.

Dublin vs Cork

Cork manager John Cleary was poor mouthing to the media earlier this week about his five players who were all supposedly suffering from injuries, while he also threw in a sideswipe about how far Portlaoise was from some of his players in West Cork. Presumably he was angling for Mitchelstown as a neutral venue, but punters have seen right through his complaints and most of the 2/1 about Cork has been backed out of existence, with only Stan James and BetPack still holding that price. Lo and behold, all five injury doubts were named to start in the Cork team and the punting public were proved right. Of course they still have a lot to do, but it says a lot that Cleary feels the need totalk his team down rather than up.

Dublin come into this semi final on the back of a wave of hype, much of it surrounding teenage sensation Ciarán Kilkenny, who really proved his incredible talents against Louth in the provincial decider. Certainly this is a highly capable Dublin outfit but Leinster was particularly poor this year, with Meath and Laois fielding some of their worst teams at this level for a long time. Kildare were expected to provide Dublin with their toughest challenge but they failed to get their campaign off the ground, losing by a point to Offaly in Gracefield. Dublin have looked good cutting through poor teams for a short cut but they have to find a new level tomorrow and they might find the going tough. In what could be a low scoring game, take the two point head start given to the Rebels by Stan James and look for an upset.

Cavan vs Roscommon

This column went against Cavan twice already this year, both against Armagh and Derry, and since we paid the price on each occasion, we won’t do so again. However this is not a good betting game for the simple reason that there is a good possibility that Roscommon haven’t shown their full hand yet, and they could be a much better team than people realise. They cruised through their Connacht final against Sligo and were very much the better team against Mayo, even though the scoreline didn’t give any indication. On that basis, we’ll stick with a goalscorer bet here and side with Colin Compton, 9/1 with Powers to get the first goal of the game.

The Strokestown forward has been the focal point of the Roscommon attack at the edge of the square and while he’s done great work so far bringing the players around him into the game, he’s also proved that he’s able to finish himself when the opportunity arises. Roscommon will look for him early and often and at 9/1 he looks like a real threat and possibly the most likely Ros player to raise a green flag.

U21 Recommendations

Dublin vs Cork: Cork +2pts @ 11/10 (Stan James, Betpack)

Cavan vs Roscommon: Colin Compton to score the first goal @ 9/1 (Powers)

Kilkenny, Cork and Clare all still have two months to go before getting their championship seasons underway, so Sunday’s league semi final double header is of huge importance to all of them as the managers look to get more competitive games under their belts. Dublin and Galway also played out an incredibly competitive game last week in O’Connor Park and they now must renew hostilities in O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, with the spectre of relegation looming large for both counties, meaning that nearly all the main hurling counties are in action this week.

Dublin vs Galway

Ryan O’Dwyer and Alan McCrabbe both miss out due to suspension but after using 23 players in the drawn game, Anthony Daly clearly has faith in every member of his squad. Both sides will look back on the draw with tinges of regret. Dublin will feel disappointed that after rebuffing the first Galway comeback with Ross O’Carroll’s goal, they couldn’t hold on in normal time, while Galway in particular will look back and wonder how they managed to lose a two point lead with two extra men in the second period of extra time.

Joe Canning’s return to form was also big news for the Galway men and they are obviously a completely different force when the Portumna forward is ensconced in the team.

Nonetheless Dublin hold the upper hand here psychologically and must surely be hopeful that they will get more out their forward line the next day. The starting Dublin forward line contributed only four scores from play last week and surely most be hopeful of a greatly improved performance in Portlaoise. Add in the psychological impact of Galway having thrown away the stronger position, no more suprise element from Joe Canning lining out, and the even money about a Dublin win starts to look very attractive.

Kilkenny vs Clare

Kilkenny have been devastating at times and unspectacular at others during this league run, but if they produce another performance along the lines of what they did against Galway, they’ll win this and with plenty to spare. However Clare have performed much more consistently throughout the league, albeit against a lower level of opposition, and the logical handicap play here is probably siding with them to stay close. David Fitzgerald continues to have the Midas touch in the management game and the calm resolution that his players showed to dig deep and produce a win in the Division 1B decider against Limerick was extremely impressive.

Cillian Buckley’s eye-catching debut for the Cats gives Brian Cody another option and it also frees up Michael Rice to move back to the half forward line, where his mobility lets him come on to support full forward line players in possession quite regularly. Boylesports are 20/1 about Rice getting the first goal in this game and since there is a slight sense of uneasiness associated with betting against Kilkenny even with a large handicap, that’s our recommendation here.

Tipperary vs Cork

It speaks volumes about what Jimmy Barry Murphy has achieved in his short tenure as Cork manager that his team are only one point underdogs for a National League semi-final against Tipperary at Semple Stadium. This Spring the Cork team have been balanced, settled and have produced some fine performances, not least when inflicting Kilkenny’s only defeat in the league campaign.

Tipperary, by contrast, have been all over the place and still look to be in experimentation mode. Only seven of the team that started the 2011 All Ireland final are named to start on Sunday, with only Michael Cahill, Conor O’Mahony and Noel McGrath holding their positions from that game. They are at home and the two sides played out an excellent 1-23 apiece draw in the final round of the round robin stages of the league, but Cork need this league title a lot more than Tipperary do and they probably deserve to be considered joint favourites here. Ladbrokes are 10/11 about Cork plus a two point head start and in a game that should be quite tight, that advantage could be critical.

Weekend NHL Recommendations

Dublin vs Galway: Dublin to win @ 1/1 (generally available)

Kilkenny vs Clare: Michael Rice to score the first goal @ 20/1 (Boylesports)

Tipperary vs Cork: Cork +2pts @ 10/11 (Ladbrokes)

Earlier today we recommended a bet on Mayo on grounds that probably wouldn’t best please followers of the green above the red – that Kerry mightn’t be that motivated for a game against James Horan’s team. We were also fully ready to recommend a bet on the Galway hurlers, based on grounds that wouldn’t best please the Tribesmen. However teams have been named and things have changed….

Dublin vs Galway

Both these counties will feel a little aggrieved that despite hurling quite well for most of the season, they ended up in the drop zone while a well timed late run by Waterford saved the Déise’s bacon. However they are where they are now and neither manager will want to lose Sunday’s battle in O’Connor Park and play Division 1B hurling in 2013. Traditionally Galway are at their strongest in April and that was why we were poised to suggest that they were a good value bet at odds against, but then the teams were released, Paul Ryan was named to start in the Dublin attack and Joe Canning’s continued absence was confirmed, so needless to say this affected our view.

Anthony Daly won’t thank Conor Hayes for his outburst this week suggesting that Galway are being badly managed, which will surely motivate the Galway troops to a certain degree. There was a fair degree of truth in what Hayes said – Anthony Cunningham is far from certain of his best team and players are being tried in very different positions. Nonetheless, we are forced to ask – when was it ever any different out in Galway?

It’s all very well to think back on the halcyon days of the 1980′s when the Galway team picked itself, but the problem with an endless production line of capable young hurlers is that it becomes very hard to know which of the 60-100 candidates for county panel slots are the better players. However this has been the case for a long time with Galway and yet they are still a division 1A team and always rated as one of the top four or five teams in Ireland.

Last year these two sides met in the championship in Tullamore and Galway were 1/2 or shorter with a lot of the bookies. The pendulum has swung, possibly too far, but then that was a Galway team with Canning, this one isn’t. Our instinct is still to side with Galway, but not enough to recommend a bet. Instead, we’re going to look at the total points market.

After a high scoring few weeks in early March, the bookies have pulled in the reins on their totals markets but they’ve possibly gone too far here, pitching the line in the high thirties. Dublin are a quite strong team defensively but O’Connor Park is a high scoring field generally and Powers offer of 11/10 about 40 or more as a total is a very appealing bet.

Laois vs Wexford

The arrival of Teddy McCarthy to the O’Moore County was supposed to usher in a new era of competitiveness in Laois hurling, one where the undoubted talent in the county was harnessed. It all started very well and the Walsh Cup victory over Dublin suggested that things were on the up, but after a decent start against Offaly in the league, Mick McEvoy got a red card, Offaly ran up a large score and the wheels duly fell off. Since then Laois have really struggled to even rediscover their Walsh Cup form and their failure to defend a ten point lead against Antrim has seen rumours of backbiting and discontent resurface.

Neither side tried too hard last week but Wexford still won with plenty to spare and while Liam Dunne has his own problems in the South East, they will win this and should cover the spread as well.

Carlow vs Westmeath

Carlow had a slight edge when these two sides met in the round robin series and Westmeath appear to be trying to level the score with all sorts of rumour mongering regarding which players will and won’t be fit to hurl in Nowlan Park this Sunday. Eoin Price takes his place at centre back despite being tipped to miss out, while Brendan Murtagh, Paddy Dowdall and Adam Price are all named as substitutes this week. Now if these lads actually aren’t fit, then Carlow are a great bet at 4/6 – the idea that a county with a small pick like Westmeath wouldn’t be affected by the loss of three of their best players is ludicrous. So stand by for at least one of the three to make a “miraculous” recovery in time for the start, and one more to be sprung off the bench after twenty minutes or so. It’ll make no difference, and if anything will only discommode and confuse the team. Carlow are hurling that bit better at the moment and they deserve to be favourites here, regardless of the gamesmanship from the Lake county.

NHL Playoff Recommendations

Dublin vs Galway: 40 or more points @ 11/10 (Powers)

Laois vs Wexford: Wexford -8 @ 11/10 (Powers)

Carlow vs Westmeath: Carlow @ 4/6 (Betpack, Stan James, BetVictor)

The playoffs may still be looming on the horizon, but for the vast majority of teams, the National Football League is over for another year and nothing remains but to pore over the carcass and see what needs to be done in advance of the championship. The big news in division 1 was the failure of Dublin to reach the last four, and they look to be the side with the most work to do in advance of the championship.

Kerry: B

Despite playing without a lot of their frontline players, Kerry still topped the division and while their final round draw with Mayo wasn’t some of their best work, they still look to be in a good place. Bryan Sheehan looks more settled than ever at midfield while Patrick Curtin is showing lots of potential up front. After losing the previous All Ireland final by a point, it doesn’t take a lot new for Kerry to get where they need to be. A much improved performance from the under-21 footballers under the guidance of Eamon Fitzmaurice is more good news for the Kingdom and they also look to have some good prospects in their ranks that could be called upon if required.

Cork – C

Conor Counihan is persisting with the experiment of playing Aidan Walsh as a target man full forward and his goal at the weekend will undoubtedly be seen as some vindication of that policy, but it’s also detracting from the potency of their running game from midfield. Perhaps this is a ploy to counteract blanket defences, but right now Cork are not really running up the scores that they need and look to be a step behind their main rivals.

Down – C

Many would argue that reaching the knockout stages deserves more praise for a county like Down in such heady Division 1 company, but with the exception of their strong performance against Dublin, they haven’t really shown anything new. They have a great killer instinct and they produced a big win over Laois when it was badly needed, but it’s hard to look at the Down team that played throughout the league and say that James McCartan has hit on a new player or a new tactic, or anything that’s going to bump them up from “capable of beating anyone on their day” to “blue chip contender”. They’re in a better place than most, but they only have another year or two before they start to lose a lot of key players and they need to produce soon. It’s hard to tell what McCartan has in his locker but he’ll need something, though a very kind Ulster championship draw will bring them a long way.

Mayo – B

On the grounds that all league games are equal when it comes to points but not all are equal when it comes to championship form, Mayo actually have more cause to be happy than most right now. Granted some of their losses earlier in the campaign were very disappointing, but they rounded off the season with a great performance against Cork where they were edged out of it, a draw in Kerry and a devastating demolition job of Dublin. Yet again they seem to have eight or nine forwards all making a strong case for championship inclusion and Donal Vaughan looks like he’s really stepped up to a whole new level at centre back. Their semi-final against Kerry will be fascinating but one way or another they look well poised to win Connacht and look like great value at 20/1 in places for the All Ireland on that basis.

Dublin – D

The Dubs badly need Bernard Brogan back because up front they are completely lacking penetration. Pat Gilroy said after Sunday’s defeat to Cork that “We uncovered a few new players, which was one of the things we wanted to do”. At the risk of sounding harsh, if he has discovered them, he hasn’t shown them to the rest of us yet. He has got some solid contributions from proven players in different positions, with Kevin McManamon coming to mind in particular in this regard, but they have a lot of work to do and are currently six points behind where they were at the end of 2011. It’s not as simple as just presuming that it’ll all work out in the end.

Donegal – D

They survived by virtue of three home wins in the league, beating Cork when the Rebels had two key players out through suspension, edging past Armagh who had no Crossmaglen players, and beating Mayo on a day when the Connacht champions never showed up. They’ve shown us nothing and knowing Jimmy McGuinness, that’s probably deliberate. Their championship tactics took us all by surprise last year and expect something similar this time around. Ignore their league entirely is the message here.

Laois – D

Realistically the midlanders were always likely to be relegated so dropping to division 2 is no disaster for them, particularly after winning two games and playing quite well in others, most notably against Kerry and Dublin. Their Leinster draw is tricky but if it also represents a nice progression. If they come through Longford and Wexford, they will be very well poised and ready for a Croke Park tie against the Dubs. Nonetheless they lack free scoring inside forwards and they certainly won’t have taken any heart from their under-21 display.

Armagh – B

Another controversial grade, giving a B to a team that just got relegated, but Armagh played competitively in the top flight without having any use of their Crossmaglen players – that’s an incredible achievement. We certainly won’t get involved in the debate about the rights and wrongs of Ciarán McKeever’s red card in Portlaoise but they essentially got relegated that day and it’s safe to say that such a sequence of events won’t happen again. Put the Cross players back into that team and already the 10th of June in the Morgan Athletic Grounds looks like something well worth marking on your calendar.

Working out the various permutations for this weekend’s National Football League division 1 battles would require an advanced degree in Mathematics, however the GAA authorities have been reasonably fortunate in that seven of the eight teams have something to play for this week so at least supporters will be watching teams trying to win before they have to break out their calculators in the last quarter. We’ll start our round up in Cork, where two of the antepost favourites from pre-season meet in a significant battle, one where defeat is not an option that either Conor Counihan or Pat Gilroy would like to countenance.

Cork vs Dublin

It’s no surprise that Dublin have struggled to generate scores in some of their games with Bernard and Alan Brogan playing little or no part in the league so far, but how many pundits would have predicted that the All Ireland champions would miss Eoghan O’Gara as much as they have? O’Gara was central to their win over Laois and a little bit of his physical presence and direct approach would have been a pleasant change in Castlebar when Mayo cut through them for a short cut last week – though granted it would have had nothing more than a cosmetic effect on the scoreboard with so many Dubs off form. Cork will certainly bring plenty of physicality to this game, though so far, their tactic of playing Aidan Walsh at full forward hasn’t quite worked out. Nonetheless they give the impression of a team that is actually a lot closer to the finished product than Dublin, they just need to iron out a few kinks.

This game was a tough one to call all week but Pat Gilroy made up our minds for us with his team selection. Craig Dias, David Byrne and Michael Dara MacAuley are odd selections in a forward line which surely was crying out for the more potent scoring threat that would have been offered by players like Paddy Andrews or Dean Rock. Cork have the more settled team, they have home advantage, and they need to win – we expect they will.

Donegal vs Armagh

Early in the week we were all set to go big on a home win here, but news of the potential absence of Colm McFadden and Paddy McBrearty makes this game impossible to predict unless you have the inside track to their availability. Michael Murphy is already absent, meaning that if these two also fail to make the start, it’s impossible to see where Donegal will get scores. The Tír Chonaill men are the better team at full strength, but that’s no help to us now. The better bet here might be taking Christy Toye to score a goal – if either McBrearty or McFadden fails to make the start, Toye is the most likely candidate to be pushed into a more forward role and at 14/1 to score the first goal, with each way allowed, backing him could be the best way to go.

Kerry vs Mayo

Only Kerry could revamp their team due to having nothing to play for and yet bring in a player like Colm Cooper. It’s almost laughable, if you’re not from Mayo of course.

On form, we’d nearly suggest that an upset is possible here, but Mayo have a terrible record against Kerry and there is a nagging suspicion that their match against Dublin was almost too good to be true – is it really likely that the Mayo forwards will be that accurate again? Then to top it all off, there is Jack O’Connor’s ability to spring either Darran or Declan O’Sullivan from the bench if required. No bet here.

Laois vs Down

Down have actually played some very good football so far in this league campaign and while they were poor against Kerry and atrocious against Cork, they did produce some other very good performances along the way, not least their win over Dublin at Newry. Laois on the other hand have shown good survival instinct, but they haven’t been as impressive in terms of quality. We suspect Down may actually win this with a little in hand, so again we’re going to go for the low-risk, high-return market that is winning margin.

NFL Division 1 Recommendations

Cork vs Dublin: Cork -1pt @ 10/11 (Betpack, Blue Square)

Donegal vs Armagh: Christy Toye to score the first goal @ 14/1, each way (Powers)

Laois vs Down: Down by 4-6 points @ 11/2 (Powers)

It’s a bit early yet to say that this year will see the launch of another “Drive for Five” in Dublin GAA – or maybe even the “Joy of Six” – but the Metropolitans are off to a good start in the under-21 football championship and they should put the first piece of silverware on the table tonight. Elsewhere there is semi final action in Ulster, while the Connacht title will be decided on Saturday evening in Dr Hyde Park.

Dublin vs Louth

Dublin have enjoyed two large victories in succession in this championship and while Laois were in disarray under Pat Roe, that was a good Westmeath team that they put to the sword a fortnight ago in Parnell Park. Louth by contrast were marginally the better team in their win over Longford, but if it wasn’t for a very kind run of the ball against Offaly, they would have exited the championship at that stage. Without attempting to sound too biased, a perfectly legitimate Offaly goal was pulled back for a free in to be given instead, Anton Sullivan missed two 20m frees and even then Louth were hanging on at the end as Offaly’s greater fitness almost reeled them in. This Louth team may yet provide the template for beating sides that play a blanket defence since their tendency of playing long foot passes from one 45m line to the other and looking for runners off the shoulder instead of playing long from midfield to the scoring zone meant that the football got to the danger area before Offaly defenders did. Nonetheless Dublin won’t be playing such a defensive game, neither will they give Louth as big a head start, and they should cover the handicap.

Tyrone vs Down

Down came into this championship with a strong reputation, but they were severely tested by a very ordinary Antrim team and they could find tonight’s game a bridge too far. The injury to Ronan O’Neill however is a blow to Tyrone and their would be some concern about their full back line, which will be well tested tonight. Of the four games taking place tonight and on Saturday, this is the one best left aside, purely because Down should be a lot better than we’ve seen so far, but it would be a speculative play to bet on the basis that they will either match their potential or merely reproduce their first round form.

Cavan vs Derry

On the face of it, Cavan’s six-point win over Armagh in the first round in Ulster was the most impressive performance of this competition so far. They blew away a very highly rated Armagh team and now they take the favourites’ tag into tonight’s fixture with Derry. However reports subsequent to that game suggest that not all was well in the Armagh camp at the time with a rift existing between senior and under-21 management, while injuries have hit Cavan hard since then. Captain Barry Reilly, freetaker Paul O’Connor and midfielder Killian Brady are all set to miss out tonight and Cavan simply don’t have the depth to replace players of that calibre. One way or another they wouldn’t be in for an easy game tonight against a very strong Derry team and both Boylesports and Hills have cut Derry already. However Boylesports haven’t gone far enough, so take the 7/4 still on offer while you can.

Roscommon vs Sligo

Roscommon came out of the tough side of the draw while Sligo have really proved nothing in a facile win over a Leitrim team shorn of their best forward, but even so the odds here could be a little lopsided. Roscommon’s style of football involves very fast transferring of the football from one end of the field to the other, carrying the ball and avoiding the tackle. They could be vulnerable to a side that packs the scoring zone and forces them to shoot from distance and Sligo may well be that team. Pat Hughes, David Maye and James Clarke are all dominant players in the diamond sector and while Pat Hughes has a huge task on his hands against Roscommon captain Paddy Brogan who was one of the stars of the show against Mayo, midfielders Niall Daly and and Fintan Kelly don’t look entirely natural in these roles and would possibly be happier elsewhere. Powers go 7/2 about a win for Sligo here and that could be a little generous in a game where Roscommon could easily start the match with a touch of complacency.

Under-21 Championship Recommendations

Dublin vs Louth: Dublin -5pts @ 5/6 (Ladbrokes)

Cavan vs Derry: Derry @ 7/4 (Boylesports)

Roscommon vs Sligo: Sligo @ 7/2 (Powers)

Aside from the action in the national hurling league, the rest of the weekend is a mixed bag of high class league football, lower division league football, club football, and schools hurling. In no particular order, here’s our selection from that particular a la carte menu.

Crossmaglen vs Garrycastle

For their third game in a row a fortnight ago in Croke Park, Garrycastle were hanging on at the end of the match and were probably relieved to hear the final whistle. If they weren’t, they should have been. It’s all very well to say that the favourite usually wins the second day out and the return of Stephen Kernan from suspension certainly plays into the hands of the reigning Armagh, Ulster and All Ireland champions. However Garrycastle’s midfield had fallen apart, they were forced to deploy some of their best attacking talents in their own half of the field and if the game was to last ten minutes longer, Cross could have surged ahead and covered the spread.

Yet for all that, Garrycastle will learn from the experience of playing in Croke Park and returning to a more provincial setting in Cavan could play into their hands. William Hill were out on their own at 1/3 about a Cross win and weight of money has forced them to fall into line at 1/4, but after doubting Garrycastle twice in a row, we’re going to show a little faith in them this time around. They can lead at half time, though by the end, Cross will still probably be on top.

Mayo vs Dublin

Aidan O’Shea returns to bolster the Mayo midfield while Dublin are still short of two very powerful attacking weapons in Alan and Bernard Brogan. After a bright start to the season against Laois, Mayo have fallen away a little and their defeat to Cork last week could be a heavy blow to the county, or it could galvanise them. Either way, Dublin are slowly getting into form but they’re not playing so well as to be worthy of support at 1/2, away from home, against a very decent Mayo team. Instead, we’ll just take Kevin McManamon at 9/1 to be the first goalscorer. The St Judes man was very sharp against Donegal and showed real penetration from the left corner position. If they are to score a goal, he could be the one to make the breakthrough.

Kilkenny CBS vs Nenagh CBS

This wasn’t the final pairing that was expected to materialise after the provincial championships were completed, in which both St Kieran’s College and Coláiste na nDéise looked very strong, but both of these underdogs produced big performances in the All Ireland series and now they have a chance to secure an All Ireland title this afternoon at Thurles.

Much has been made of the fixing of the game for a Tipperary venue, but in truth there is no reason why a top class hurling field roughly equidistant between the two schools should be an issue. Certainly it makes more sense than dragging the two schools to O’Moore Park in Portlaoise. The worry for Kilkenny CBS is that that by saying it’s an issue, you are creating that impression with the players. And with a very young team, that has to be a real concern. Kilkenny CBS are drawing heavily on their Under-16.5 team which was so successful this year and that lack of physique and mental maturity could be a handicap today. Nenagh CBS are used to hurling as underdogs and were expected to lose on several occasions this year, but they dug deep to produce huge performances against Thurles CBS, against Ard Scoil Rís, and of course against St Kierans. It’s hard to oppose that kind of battling tendency and here at Starbets we’re going to side with the Tipperary school to prevail.

Weekend GAA Recommendations

Crossmaglen vs Garrycastle: Garrycastle to lead at HT, Crossmaglen to win @ 13/2 (Hills)

Mayo vs Dublin: Kevin McManamon to score the first goal @ 9/1 (Hills)

Kilkenny CBS vs Nenagh CBS: Nenagh CBS to win @ 6/5 (Boylesports, Powers)

The new structure for the National hurling league may have it’s detractors, but with only one dead rubber in the final round of league games in division 1A and 1B, supporters can at least look forward to a competitive final round of games. We’ll start our rundown of the top six in Semple Stadium, where Tipperary and Cork will be hurling to guarantee their place in the semi finals.

Tipperary vs Cork

Cork stepped up to a new level last weekend when they defied our predictions here on Starbets and handed Kilkenny their first defeat since last year’s National Hurling League final. The absence of Tommy Walsh and Henry Shefflin from the Kilkenny line up leaves a slight asterisk attached but already it’s clear that Jimmy Barry Murphy has worked wonders down south.

By contrast, Tipperary supporters remain unconvinced about their season so far. Home wins over Waterford and Galway mean that they look well poised to progress to the knockout stages but with the exception of the Waterford match, their attacking play has lacked conviction and they’ve failed to find the net in three of their four games so far. Whatever about being favourites for the match, they certainly shouldn’t be favourites to score the first goal and that’s the basis for our betting this week. Cork have scored eight goals in two games and with a balanced, settled forward line, they are well capable of raising the first green flag of the match.

Kilkenny vs Galway

Galway have a good record against Kilkenny in league games and now that the Tribesmen are playing for their survival, they should be highly motivated to produce a big performance in Nowlan Park. However Kilkenny’s defeat to Cork in the last round will undoubtedly sharpen hunger among Brian Cody’s players too, so Galway could be meeting the Cats at just the wrong time.

Bet365 and Ladbrokes certainly think so and they are each offering 1/5 about Kilkenny. If Richie Power gets a reprieve from his suspension tonight, that price makes some sense. If he doesn’t, then there is no way Galway are 4/1 shots to beat a Kilkenny team shorn of their top scorer. The best policy here is to take the 4/1 now, then trade out at the 1/3 (Boylesports) and 12/1 draw for a tiny loss if it turns out that Power is freed to start.

Waterford vs Dublin

Dublin supporters are entitled to feel a little bit hard done by in that they’ve hurled quite well in three of their four games so far and yet find themselves locked into a relegation playoff. By contrast, Waterford were woeful in three of their four games, but they produced a two point win against Galway last week and thus can save themselves with a win in front of their own supporters in Dungarvan, provided of course that Kilkenny beat Galway.

Logic dictates that Dublin are operating at a higher level on a consistent basis, but hunger is a huge driver in a game like this and with John Mullane now available for selection, the pieces are starting to slot into place for Waterford. Bet365 are 11/10 about Waterford with a one point start and since the last three Dublin games have all been decided by a point or less, it’s worth taking that extra bit of insurance.

NHL Division 1A Recommendations

Tipperary vs Cork: Cork to score the first goal @ 21/20 (Ladbrokes)

Kilkenny vs Galway: Galway @ 4/1 (Bet365, Ladbrokes) N.B. Trade out if Richie Power’s appeal is successful.

Waterford vs Dublin: Waterford +1pt @ 11/10 (Bet365)

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