GAA supporters suffering withdrawal symptoms are probably still looking out their windows and praying that the break in freezing conditions lasts for just a few more days so that the action can finally get underway, but realistically, the worst of the weather now appears to be past and it seems safe to say that most if not all counties will get their season underway this weekend.

Betting has recently been unveiled for most of this weekend’s games, and contained within those matches are a few potentially intriguing opportunities. As discussed earlier this week, the college teams have been getting better and better results in the preseason competitions, and with that in mind, UUJ are worth a closer look at 13/8 against Armagh.

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GAA dressing rooms in January are an odd environment, a distant cousin to the tense and energised setting that one finds in the summer. For every enthusiastic teenager with energy to burn and a point to prove, there’s a grizzled veteran in his early thirties who has been through it all before and knows well that the summer is a long way away yet. For every local lad who’s been pounding the roads over Christmas making sure that any traces of turkey have long been burnt away, there’s yet another lad who’s been burning sambucas deep into the night without a thought towards the calorific content in the glass, or even the crisp weather and mucky pitches that lie in waiting, ready to severely punish any such flamboyancy of lifestyle.

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