Dublin may have walked away with the biggest prize in Gaelic football for this year, but for countless clubs up and down the counties and provinces of Ireland, the stage is set for their own little All Ireland finals, with no shortage of crucial knockout fixtures taking place.

Tomorrow night sees Magheracloone facing off against Scotstown in the first such battle of the weekend, with Ladbrokes marginally favouring Magheracloone at odds of 10/11. The 2010 county finalists started this year very poorly and looked to have fallen out of contention by the height of the summer, but driven by Damien Freeman and a few other senior players, they pulled themselves together, culminating in their excellent quarter final win over Clontibret.

It’s often difficult to follow up a big win over a team that you were not expected to beat with another victory over a less vaunted rival, and Scotstown certainly won’t make life easy for Magheracloone this week, but the return to these shores of Tommy Freeman gives the men in yellow a huge boost.

Freeman probably won’t start the game, but the ability to call on the star corner forward will be a handy trump card to play in the case of emergency, and his presence certainly should be enough to get Magheracloone over the line. Without him on the bench, 10/11 would still have been the better bet here, but it certainly seems as if the bookies are a bit behind the news here, and those odds should be taken.

Latton O’Rahillys are very short at 2/7 in the other semi-final, but they still should have too much for Ballybay – however the odds here seem to be correctly assessed.

The two Down semi finals are also taking place this week with Kilcoo and Burren both expected to reach the decider with little or no obstruction. Caolan Mooney is also available once again for Rostrevor having come back from Australia, but the money is already in for the two favourites here, and 3/10 is now the Ladbrokes offering about both favourites, the Magic Sign having gone 4/11 about both initially. Kilcoo’s lack of experience at this stage of the championship makes them the more vulnerable of the two favourites, but it would still be a huge surprise if a Burren/Kilcoo double didn’t pay out.

The Sligo senior football decider gets underway at 5pm this Sunday, with Tourlestrane narrowly favoured at 4/5 to overcome 2005 Sligo champions Coolera-Strandhill. The seaside club have been by far the most devastating attacking force in Sligo this year, and the big surprise is that it hasn’t even been all about their county player Alan Costello. Teenage corner forward Niall Murphy has been a revelation and his improved form is a big part of why Coolera-Strandhill have been scoring well and overpowering opposition defences.

Tourlestrane looked dead and buried midway through the group stages after losing Eamon O’Hara to long term injury and dropping a lot of points, but they’ve pulled themselves together and there was a lot to be said for their win over Eastern Harps after a replay. There will be no shortage of character and resolve in the green and gold jerseys of the South Sligo men, but you can’t substitute for class and Coolera-Strandhill should have the edge in that regard. The prices here look the wrong way round, 5/4 on Coolera-Strandhill should be 4/5 and as such they represent the best bet in this match.

The Offaly senior football semi finals combine to form an excellent Sunday double header in Tullamore with Edenderry and Rhode the favoured combination according to the odds.

Both Paddy Power and Ladbrokes have cut Edenderry already, but even at the 8/13 currently on the boards, take the Reds to overcome Gracefield and get back to their first county final in ten years. After a prolonged period of success between 1995 and 2001 when Edenderry played in five of the seven county finals and won four titles, things began to deteriorate for the club at the start of the noughties, culminating in their relegation to intermediate level. A lot of work went into the underage structures in the club and after bouncing back to senior with a few new players to the fore, they now have a young, mobile team that lacks star names but still should be well able to stretch Gracefield out of their comfort zone in O’Connor Park.

The battle between Richie Dalton and Niall Smith at midfield will be crucial – Smith is a fine fielding midfielder, but if Dalton can pull him wide and force him to do a marking job, Gracefield will be robbed of their main source of possession and possibly will be exposed to players running from deep positions. A wet day and bad conditions is the main concern here, but even with that risk in mind, 8/13 is a good price.

The battle between Rhode and Clara has the potential to be one of the best games in the country this weekend, as these two clubs played out excellent county finals in 2009 and 2010, Clara winning by a point in 2009 and Rhode coming out on top by the same margin last year, when Niall McNamee gave an exhibition of scoring in O’Connor Park. McNamee is carrying a long standing groin injury but still has been outstanding throughout this championship. Rhode have won all six matches they’ve played this year without playing well, solely on the back of his brilliance and unless Clara come up with a way of stopping him, they will become victim number seven.

Clara have all their players available for the first time this year, including J1 traveller Graham Guilfoyle and injury victim Scott Brady, but they’ll need to click in order to put Rhode under real pressure. On the basis that they haven’t done so yet this year, 21/10 is just a touch too short to justify a speculative bet this week.

Fans of grass roots GAA certainly can have no complaints this week with roughly 100 games priced up all across Ireland, more than enough compensation for the senior intercounty championships only offering two games to the GAA punter.

Looking at the prices on offer, it could be a good week to look at some dangerous outsiders, as more than a few short priced favourites look vulnerable. First up tonight is Graiguecullen, reigning Laois under-21 champions and the club many people expect to be the main challengers to Portlaoise for this year’s Laois senior football championship crown. Aside from their incredible cross-border history which includes 13 Carlow championships and 12 Laois titles, Graigecullen have been a huge success story in Laois underage football in recent years, and this year that form finally came through to senior level when the club reached the league final.

Portlaoise were again too strong for the men in green and red on that occasion, but it was further evidence of a team going in the right direction under the management of Paul Bealin. Some would argue that the odds of 1/5 that Ladbrokes are offering about a first round win over Portarlington are further corroboration of their current lofty reputation.

Despite all this, 4/1 Portarlington could yet be worth a second look. Port have plenty of good young footballers of their own and while they were relegated from the first division of the league this year, they actually finished quite strongly, with a draw against the Heath, wins over St Josephs and Arles-Killeen and a 3-9 to 2-9 defeat to Portlaoise. This game is being eagerly anticipated in Port as club insiders give their men every chance. A tight contest is quite likely and in that environment, 4/1 is well worth a wager.

The other interesting outsider in Laois is Crettyard, 15/8 to turn over St Josephs. This is purely a play against St Josephs, who have been struggling to get together their best team in recent weeks. All the local media are expecting a very tight game here and most are struggling to pick a favourite – this is one of those games where the bookmakers’ odds could be a reflection of which team has the higher profile in recent years rather than how the teams stand in 2011.

Moving now to Derry, and up here we’re going to shoot for the big one – Kilrea to turn over Ballinderry at 7/2. The Shamrocks are rightly respected all across Ulster as a top class side, however Kilrea won’t be thinking about that, they’ll be thinking about the ferocious battle (in the worst sense of the word) that took place between these two clubs last year. Kilrea really stood up to Ballinderry that day and if this match gets ugly again, well then surely the underdog must have a chance if the favourites get distracted by the extra-curricular activity.

The two Kielts are in extraordinary form right now while Enda Muldoon is getting way past his peak. The Shamrocks should be favourites but this is a real banana skin for them and at 7/2, we’re going to take a chance that they slip up. We tread warily here since our opponents on the other side of the betting counter have the inside track into Derry football, however anything can happen when players are preparing for a match where points and goals could be of less interest than avenging past offences.

Cavan is our next destination on this whistle-stop tour of Ireland, and here we’re again shooting at the big guns by suggesting Ramor United to turn over Cavan Gaels at 16/5. Cavan Gaels are one of those clubs that everyone expects to be competitive all the time, but the nature of their defeat to Ballinagh at the weekend suggested that something is badly wrong in the club. The decision not to start Seanie Johnston was a bizarre one as the corner forward showed no signs of injury when he came on, while there have been several signs that their failure to take the county title last year was no fluke.

Cavan Gaels still have an incredible array of talent, but if things aren’t going well in a club, it can be difficult to turn things round in a short space of time. In a do or die fixture like this, Ramor are very dangerous opponents and they will smell town blood in the water. Price, as always, determines the correct course of action and 16/5 warrants a bet.

Of course there are favourites who look well priced too, worthy ingredients for accumulator punters. In Offaly, Rhode will cruise past Tubber, albeit at a prohibitive 1/12, while Loughinisland look much too good for Tullyish in Down at 1/3. Tuam Stars would have to play very poorly to give Kilkerrin/Clonberne a chance and should win by plenty, while Clonguish look like a cracking 2/5 shot and should be way to strong for Mostrim.

Finally, it would be a shock of momentous proportions if Rasharkin didn’t lose heavily to Cargin, but here too odds of 1/10 don’t encourage a big play – at least not with so many well priced alternatives, as outlined earlier.

It’s that time of year when the majority of the county sides have made their exit from the championship, so club football is starting to come back to the fore, with football action in particular taking place in a lot of parts of Ireland this weekend. Most championships are still at the round robin stage, but Louth, Cavan and Monaghan are among those championships getting underway, while others such as Offaly and Sligo are continuing to make their way through their group stages.

This particular post will focus on Offaly, since unsurprisingly it is the championship that this writer is most familiar with, and many accum punters looking to put together a bet will certainly be looking at Rhode, 1/4 to beat Ferbane, and Clara, 2/7 to beat Walsh Island, as a part of their portfolio for this weekend. Certainly Ladbrokes have a good few games to choose from in their extensive list, and whatever about Rhode, it could be worth skipping Clara and looking elsewhere.

Both sides have key players over in America, but the importance of Brian Connor to Walsh Island cannot be overstated and his absence is the most significant piece of team news. Walsh Island have little or no reserve strength and the big midfielder is a dominant influence on the club scene, one that they simply cannot adequately replace. Having said that, Clara are missing several players of their own, including, most significantly, Scott Brady, who sustained a knee injury in the league semi final against Ballycumber.

Despite having an enviable array of talent, something is not quite right in Clara at the moment and they are oscillating wildly between playing some very stylish football and simply not hitting the right notes at all. Their recent results include a 2-7 to 1-4 defeat to Ballycumber in the league semi final, a 0-21 to 1-5 win over Walsh Island, and a 0-6 to 1-12 loss to Erin Rovers. These aren’t the results of a club playing consistent football, and while they could win with plenty to spare, they represent a very dangerous 2/7 shot this week. Ladbrokes are 3/1 about Walsh Island and within Offaly, that bet is proving very popular this week. Clara should pull through, if only because their loss to Gracefield in the previous round has put them under pressure, but it’s not a betting proposition.

Rhode at 1/4 make a lot more appeal, simply because no matter what injury or loss of form the rest of the team endures, they still have Niall McNamee in their ranks and no club in Offaly has the kind of defender capable of curtailing his influence. Ferbane came close to causing an upset when these two sides met in the quarter final last year due to their ability to nick goals, however Niall’s brilliance still pulled Rhode through and it can do so again.

That match on Sunday evening is followed by the fixture between Edenderry and Tullamore, a game that promises to be a real season-defining clash for these two clubs. Edenderry football club fell on some hard times in the middle of the last decade and they even dropped down to intermediate level briefly, but as is often the case, relegation was the catalyst for the club to begin rebuilding and to start working with the next generation of footballer. They’ve had a steady stream of decent minor teams and in the past couple of years they’ve always been competitive, even if they’ve lacked the ability to close out tight games.

Tullamore on the other hand have had some big blowouts and have looked in a really bad way on several occasions in the last few years, but they are masters at finding a way to win. While they cannot seem to beat Rhode, if someone else manages to do that job for them, more often than not they end up as the team to capitalise.

This year however things appear to have fallen apart in spectacular fashion in the town. Manager Benny O’Brien left his role after deciding that his players weren’t willing to make the commitment – one too many training sessions with single figure attendances – while they were by far the most heavily hit club in Offaly in terms of emigration. Many of those departures were only temporary, but they are a pale shadow of the side that reached successive county finals not long ago. County under-21 footballers John Moloney and Michael Brazil have agreed to cut short their summer in New Zealand to come back and help out the Blues this week, but with Shane Dooley still over in New York, it’s hard to see where the scores will come from. Shane’s exploits on the hurling field are well known all across Ireland, but he has also been one of the top three forwards in Offaly club football for the past four or five years, and without him Tullamore simply lack scoring power.

Tullamore have plenty of talent still available to them, but Edenderry look to be in a lot better shape right now and could very easily be coming into this game as league champions. Ladbrokes make them 10/11 this week and while their lack of goalscoring is a worry, they still should compound Tullamore’s misery on Sunday evening.

Eleven and a half years ago this writer left college as a fresh faced graduate and entered the bookmaking world as an apprentice with one of the market leaders in online and retail betting in Ireland.

After approximately eighteen months of learning the ropes with the telephone betting and online teams, I joined the odds compiling department and began working on GAA pricing, under the watchful supervision of a Meathman who managed risk in a style not dis-similar to the footballing personality of his county. He understood the game instinctively and respected his opponents, but if anyone breached the bookmaker’s defences to score, they were marked out of the game from then on. It was as if Mick Lyons was at the helm.

The general attitude to GAA betting at this time was very conservative all across the industry. Bets on big championship games and outright bets on provincial and All Ireland titles were accepted with good grace, but betting on club matches before the All Ireland final was unheard of, while national league games were actually offered on a “minimum trebles” basis, designed to make the product unattractive.

That ridiculous stipulation did not last long, but it’s a far cry from today, when one can bet on round robin games in club championships. Ladbrokes currently offer betting on Meath, Dublin and Offaly club matches and it’s definitely a punter’s paradise with so many options. Picking winners is never straightforward, but the more matches we have to choose from, the better chance we have of betting profitably.

Taking the Offaly SFC first, since it is the one nearest and dearest to this writer’s heart, the outright betting is essentially a write off. There is little to choose between Rhode and Clara, as Ladbrokes have established, and it’s almost impossible to see a winner coming from anywhere else.

Tullamore have lost John Moloney and Michael Brazil – two of the best under-21 footballers in the county – to emigration, while Kevin Williamson is concentrating on soccer with Athlone Town. All three of those players would be in the top 50 overall in Offaly, and no senior club can bear that kind of loss, much less a club with ground to make up on the two front runners.

Ferbane, my own club, have a great group of minor footballers and look to be moving in the right direction, but the number of dual players is a problem and it’s a big ask to win a county senior title with no county panellist. They, along with a number of other clubs, could conceivably reach a county final if luck went their way, but there is no value at 8/1 outright.

Tubber are a wild card at 20/1 as they have a wonderful community spirit and two top class players at different stages of their career in Ciarán McManus and Bernard Allen, however they probably lack the depth required. They could be a good each way punt, but in the tougher group of the two, they are unlikely to dodge the big guns for as long as they need to.

It’s ultimately between Rhode at 5/4 and Clara at 6/4, and with Graham Guilfoyle currently lined up to head out to the Gold Coast Suns on a trial basis, Rhode have to be the narrow call here.

Looking at the match betting now, and the game that jumps off the page is the meeting of St Rynaghs and Gracefield in O’Connor Park on Saturday evening. Gracefield are a traditional football club taking in the Offaly side of Portarlington and were the first club to win the Leinster club championship.

However despite regularly providing one or two players to Offaly county sides at every level, the club team has underperformed spectacularly in recent seasons. Karol Slattery and Niall Smith should dominate club games at centre back and midfield respectively, but they rarely do and the club has been bedevilled by emigration.

Rynaghs are more well known as a force in the hurling world, and they had more than a few narrow escapes on their way to winning the intermediate football championship last year, but they have got an extremely capable and dependable backline, along with some of the brightest young prospects in the county.

Gracefield have got badly beaten in their last three league games, losing by a combined total of 29 points, and while they have some very talented footballers, they have struggled to pull things together this season and have essentially picked up where they left off in 2010, when they just about edged out St Brigid’s to avoid the drop.

If both sides had everyone available Gracefield would be the better bet here but they have several key forwards in foreign countries, while Ciarán Kiely has transferred out to the Downs in Westmeath. They will improve as the championship goes on but for now, and at the 11/8 posted by the Magic Sign, St Rynaghs have to be nominated as the better betting option.

Twice frozen off and presenting easy material to those who mock the GAA fixtures calendar, the 2010 Leinster Club Football Final will – hopefully – be played this fourth Sunday of 2011. While inter-county sides shorn of key players shadow box their way through glorified challenge matches this weekend, the most hotly contested fixture on the island sees Kilmacud Crokes look to secure their third provincial title in six years at the expense of Rhode.

As course and distance winners we installed the south Dublin side as hot favourites, 1/6 chances to lift the title with Rhode as 7/2 underdogs. However the money has been relentlessly for the Offaly representatives and we have shifted the outright betting massively to 4/11 Kilmacud, 15/8 Rhode.

Although Rhode have never won a Leinster title, they are no strangers to the final having endured a heartbreaking defeat against Crokes in the 2008 provincial showpiece. The scoreline that day was 2-7 to 1-7, both of the Crokes goals could be described as ”soft” at best – I expect it’s not a match that the Rhode goalkeeper likes to discuss. The Offaly side were six points ahead and playing against 14 men at one stage.

With that in mind you can see why the punters are siding with Rhode. They are indeed very live outsiders, and of course everyone associated with Kilmacud Crokes suggests that Rhode should be hot favourites. The Crokes lads might be as well not to apply for any betting licenses just yet however.

Crokes are a team of winners, but they are winners who like to keep us entertained. They seem to operate off the same script as the immortal Hulk Hogan used to. You may recall how the All-American wrestling hero invariably took a relentless thrashing throughout his bouts until – without fail – the dramatic moment would come when the tide turned and inexorably he would power his way to victory against the odds.

The Crokes are a dream team for in-play punters. The trick is to catch the drifting price at the absolute maximum, just as the game looks to be slipping beyond them. Then sit back and watch as the price of a Kilmacud win falls faster than the price of a Kilmacud property. While Paddy Carr is being asked after the game “What did you say to them at half time to turn the game around?” you can be counting your winnings.

Rhode to lead at half time and Crokes to win the match pays 5/1.

Punt On!

This columnist had set aside this evening to discuss Sunday’s Leinster club final between Rhode and Kilmacud, however upon looking up in the sky, the absence of our thunder was noticeable – it had been stolen.

Neil Walsh, the punters’ regular sparring partner dwelling at the helm of the Ladbrokes GAA department, has struck the nail with a clean blow on the head when he suggested that Rhode to lead at half time and Crokes to win the match at 5/1 is a value bet. Indeed it is much better than a value bet, it is a bet that it is very easy to envisage paying out.

Crokes’ tendency to start slowly and slowly move through the gears has been well documented and both Garrycastle and Portlaoise can testify to that fact. The aspect of this game that Neil didn’t touch upon was Rhode’s mental fragility, indeed an affliction that has curtailed all of Offaly football for the past decade.

Rhode’s collapse in this fixture two years ago was widely attributed to some poor goalkeeping on the day and certainly that played a part, but it didn’t explain why Rhode as a collective force fell asunder. They had enough artillery to overcome an unfortunate concession, but they misfired spectacularly in moving the ball up the field and ended up empty handed after scoring a meagre point in the second half hour. It’s no coincidence that Rhode have had several shots at this Leinster title but have nonetheless failed to get over the line – they don’t like the finish line, and generally wobble as it looms. In Offaly, they’re usually well in front at that point – but against Kilmacud, they are unlikely to have that luxury.

As a proud Offaly man, this columnist would love to be wrong about this, but Rhode have still shown at regular intervals that they could be vulnerable when four or five points in front. Clara got a late goal against them to nearly reel them in at O’Connor Park in the county final, Old Leighlin came very close to doing the same, while Roy Malone’s late goal against Skryne masked the fact that the Meath champions had got within a point from a seemingly beaten stance as well. If Rhode win this game, they’ll either come from behind, or else get a bit of luck at a crucial time. In the absence of that, a Crokes’ comeback will feel inexorable.

For one other football bet this week, have a look at UCD at 15/8 to beat Louth. UCD haven’t gone on a recruiting spree in the same way some other colleges have, however they have a regular inflow of capable young footballers and their wins away to Meath and Carlow carry some merit, certainly at least as much praise as Louth have earned so far this year.

Louth’s tradition as a good January team precedes them, however that still doesn’t justify 1/2 in what should be a very competitive game. UCD have a good array of players, a real powerhouse at midfield in Laois’s John O’Loughlin, and have improved quietly to the point of being genuine Sigerson Cup contenders. At 15/8, they are well worth a small, speculative punt.

There’s an increasingly familiar look to the shape of the All Ireland Senior Club Championship following Crossmaglen’s seven point win over Glenties recently. We were caught between a rock and a hard place at Ladbrokes as the punters didn’t want to back any team other than Crossmaglen since they delivered that devastating performance against St Galls, while we had a legacy of liabilities from the fancy prices we offered about Naomh Conaill a few months back.

Those clever punters who pounced on odds of 100/1 and 50/1 for the Donegal side to lift the Ulster Championship got an almighty run for their money, and at half-time in the final they would have been feeling very content with their position.

It was by far the lesser of two evils for us to payout the Crossmaglen backers and we at Ladbrokes cheered every sweet score the black and amber machine generated at Breffni Park. They remain a magnificent team but there are greater giants to be slain on every side of the draw if an All Ireland is to be won.

Cross share favouritism with Kilmacud Crokes at the head of our book, both sides 5/2 chances. However while Cross are safely in to the last four, Kilmacud have yet to emerge from their province. They face Offaly champions Rhode next month. The Dublin side are hot favourites to progress and they will set up an All Ireland semi-final meeting with Crossmaglen should they defeat the midlanders. That would be an absolutely cracking contest, and a rematch of their 2009 All Ireland Final which Crokes won on what I recall as being a very profitable Paddy’s Day!

The other side of the draw sees Connacht champions St Brigid’s as 5/1 shots, they await the winners of the Munster Final where two titans meet – Nemo Rangers and Dr Crokes.

I wish I had a tenner for every time I’ve been told in recent years that ‘Nemo are gone’, ‘Nemo are not what they used to be’ and of course ‘Nemo are finished’. Their curve of achievement may have plateaued a little in recent years, but they are not to be dismissed by any means. We make them narrow favourites over Dr Crokes at odds of 4/1 to go all the way while their Killarney rivals are currently 9/2 chances.

This week we’ve released our bonus doubles prices for the club All Ireland’s. It’s a wide open market with 10/1 the shortest price, that for Oulart The Ballagh to take the hurling title paired with Crossmaglen for the football, and also 10/1 Oulart paired with Kilmacud. It could be cracking value come St Patrick’s Day.

Punt On!

Not unlike the leftovers that get moved to the freezer for later consumption, so it is that this column could easily rehash/reheat the same material on Crossmaglen being overpriced to win by very little and O’Loughlin Gaels being overpriced generally – except that there would be very little point since the beauty of a site like StarBets.ie is that those columns are there to be looked over, and the logic holds true now just as much as it did at the time of writing.

Both of those recommendations stand, subject to similar prices being offered this week. What I can’t predict is the chance of any actual action in either code taking place this week. However,  subject to the country emerging from the frozen tundra under which it is currently hiding, there is another excellent opportunity presenting itself in the shape of Rhode having their third tilt in five years at winning a Leinster Club football title.

Ladbrokes are taking a very strong view that this game is beyond “the Village” by offering 7/2 about the Offaly club to lift the trophy, a truly remarkable price when one considers how close they came to unseating Kilmacud Crokes in Parnell Park only two years ago. Of course the Dublin champions deserve to be favourites and their performances so far in overcoming the other midland standard bearers must be respected, but this Rhode club have been building to this stage for some time and have been very consistent at this level. In the last four years their only championship defeats have been by a solitary point to a good Clara team, by a goal to Kilmacud Crokes after an inexplicable collapse two years ago, one out of character off day against Shamrocks in 2007, and a 3-6 to 0-8 reverse in the Leinster final against Moorefield four years ago when the heavy conditions played into the hands of Ronan Sweeney, Daryl Flynn, Ross Glavin and the other heavyweight stars of the Newbridge club.

Some of their more well known names such as Paschal Kelleghan and Roy Malone are getting on in years and are past their best, but other young players like Anton Sullivan and Niall Darby continue to develop into fine forwards, while the addition of midfielder Mark Dunne has played a huge part in that it has freed up Alan McNamee to play as the second midfielder dropping deep, which was always his preferred role.

The big mismatches that manager Tom Coffey will worry about will be at wing forward, where trying to put Cian O’Sullivan and Ronan Ryan on the back foot will be crucial. Cian O’Sullivan got a red card early in the clash between these two clubs two years ago and will undoubtedly be keen to make amends, while Rhode’s forward line lacks the height to compete with these guys physically. Padraig Sullivan is a teak tough scrapper for loose ball and puts in a very solid tackle, but he cannot cover the whole half forward line by himself.

However while there is a huge difference in the resources that both these clubs have to call on, it would be foolish to simply presume that Kilmacud have any noticeable advantage in terms of scoring power or guile. Brian Kavanagh is a gifted and consistent forward, but if Aherlow had managed to take out Dr Crokes a little over a week ago, then Niall McNamee would be the best forward left in the All Ireland race. Neither club have been getting a steady flow of scores from any of their supporting cast in the forward line, though Anton Sullivan looked at his best for some time against Skryne.

Generally speaking, Rhode have been scoring well and conceding a bit too much, while Kilmacud have been indifferent up front but utterly miserly in their defending. Something has to give and undoubtedly Kilmacud’s experience of winning at this level is a big help, but it’s not worth their outright odds of 1/6. Rhode at 7/2 are hugely overpriced and should be punted before that price disappears by the weekend, as it undoubtedly will. The ice may not, but those odds will melt away very quickly.

Even allowing for the Faithful county bias of this writer, of all the games going on this weekend, none are more intriguing from a betting point of view than the meeting of Rhode and Skryne in Páirc Tailteann. These two clubs come in with very contrasting styles and backgrounds and at 4/7 about Rhode with Ladbrokes, they are the only clear favourite this weekend trading at a backable price. Indeed Kilmacud Crokes, Dr Crokes and Nemo Rangers would hardly pay out those odds between them.

Of course a backable price is of no value if the team is vulnerable, and there is cause to suggest that Rhode might come under pressure.

First and foremost, as with any club who were blessed by the presence of the county’s best player, Rhode were always heavily dependent on Niall McNamee. There’s no shame in a club getting used to being carried by a player of McNamee’s gifts, and in fairness to Old Leighlin, they didn’t fall into the trap of going “man on man” and letting McNamee burn them. They subjected him to double coverage, and while he still scored two fine points from play as well as several placed balls, his contribution was worthwhile but not insurmountable. Indeed had Clara pursued a similar policy in the county final, Rhode would probably be idle right now while we would be previewing Clara’s visit to the home of Meath football.

However it’s one thing for your star player to take the lead – it’s another thing to leave almost everything up to him, and that has been the case this year. Anton Sullivan, Niall Darby and Paschal Kelleghan are very talented players but they haven’t been playing up to their potential and Rhode need to get a lot more out of those attacking talents since it’s not realistic to expect Niall to get 1-6, 2-4, 0-9 and suchlike totals in every game.

While Skryne have no such superstars, they have a well balanced, functioning attack where the different elements contribute in different ways. Trevor Giles pulls the strings from centre forward and still uses his guile and vision to great effect, Ian Davis is an excellent freetaker and a good finisher from play, corner men Mark Battersby and Kevin Mulvaney are tidy scoretakers who work well in tight spaces and full forward Brian Byrne offers physical presence and an easy long ball option for the midfield and half back line players.

It’s a cohesive, balanced structure that Liam Harnan has put in place and many would argue that it’s preferable to a system like Rhode’s where the vast majority of ball goes through one man.

There is also a contrast in the backline, where Skryne are very traditional defenders, happy to do their defensive duty and just let the ball forward for the attackers to do their thing. Rhode on the other hand like to play football from one to fifteen and their defenders will have no qualms about getting involved in attacking moves, working the ball up the field and essentially playing like frustrated centre forwards. However while that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it means that Rhode display excellent ball retention, which compensates for their mediocre record at winning primary possession from kick outs.

Ultimately Rhode should win this game for the simple reason that they have the ability to control possession and to use it more judiciously, though a lot rests on players like Anton Sullivan and Niall Darby who need to step up to the mark and offer a real scoring alternative to McNamee. For that reason, Rhode are the more likely winners, but at 4/7, it might not be worth taking the chance.

This game has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable of the weekend, but from a betting point of view the value may lie either with backing Skryne to edge the game by 1-3pts at 4/1, or else backing Rhode to win by 7-9pts at 9/2. Which one you go for depends on how likely you think it is that the Rhode supporting cast step up to the plate. If they do, the Offaly champions can win comfortably, but if not it could be a grim end to the year for a county that came so close to making a meaningful breakthrough in several different footballing grades but fell just short time and again.

With county football now on the back burner for at least a few months, for the male footballers of the country anyway, club action takes centre stage all across the country and with such a wide range of action on offer, it’s worth having a rundown along the coupon to see where the best value might lie.

Starting in Offaly, obviously enough for any proud Offaly man, Rhode and Clara remain favoured to contest the Dowling Cup in two weeks time, though the odds for an upset vary hugely from one game to the other. Rhode are a very short 1/6 to overcome Shamrocks, while Clara are a much juicier 1/2 to overcome Tullamore. Looking first to tomorrow evening’s semi final between the two two clubs, Tullamore’s very presence in the latter stages of the championship tends to spook other teams, and as a result the gut feeling in a lot of the pubs around the county is that the Blues (Tullamore) are a great bet to cash in on any opportunity for silverware.

The statistics certainly bear that feeling out. In a championship with very little depth, Tullamore have failed to reach the county semi finals in five of the last ten years. However in the five championships where they did reach the last four, they converted that into four final appearances and three wins. That tendency to deliver when the stakes are highest means that they are considered very lively outsiders, particularly when ranged against Clara, who would be well known for stylish flamboyant football and whiter than white boots, but would also be historically renowned as a mentally weak unit.

However, this generation of players appears very different. They didn’t win last year’s county final due to getting the run of the ball, the won it despite getting no luck whatsoever. They dug deep when the pressure came on, and they now look and act like winners on the field. They put in a poor performance against neighbours Tubber in the quarter finals, but when their one goal chance came, John Reynolds took it with style and unless they under-perform hugely, they should beat a Tullamore team with plenty of skill in moving the ball, but a shortage of finishers.

Nowhere in Ireland is football more central to life than in Rhode village, and the presence of three sets of very talented brothers (McNamees, Sullivans and Darbys) gives them seven county panelists against a Shamrocks team that has never won a county title and has struggled to balance senior football and senior hurling. Shamrocks are hugely dependent on PJ Ward for scores, a very talented player but a man who hasn’t always produced his best football when the circumstances are most testing. They have no county starters and many of their traditional, no-nonsense leaders like Barry, Conor and Ronan Mooney are well into the Autumn of their careers. Despite all this, they have a very solid unit and when they do click, they can be a very potent attacking force. Nigel Dunne, a play-making centre forward in Maynooth university, is a player to watch for the future and he has been pulling the strings for the club very well.

Shamrocks brittle mentality means that a fifteen point hammering cannot be ruled out, but their potential is such that a win cannot be discounted either. At the odds offered for the two matches, Clara, and not Rhode, are the favourites to have on side.

Moving northwest to Roscommon where the county final is taking place on Sunday afternoon, St Brigid’s of Kiltoom are once again strong favourites to regain the Fahey Cup, a title that they last held in 2007. Their opponents on Sunday are Elphin, a club who have a huge history, but who have achieved very little throughout recent generations. In 1957, Elphin played in their tenth consecutive county final, winning their fourteenth championship by a goal against Sunday’s opponents. The 53 years since then have seen the club fail to add their fifteenth title, though optimism is very high in advance of Sunday’s game.

Elphin have a solid defensive unit, arguably at least as strong a sextet as that which the Kiltoom men will bring to Dr Hyde Park, but up front they have one star in Cathal Cregg and little else. The battle between Cathal Cregg and Peter Domican will be worth the entrance money alone since these are two of the most talented young footballers in Connacht, but with complacency unlikely to be an issue after two barren campaigns, St Brigid’s should coast home at the odds of 1/3.

The position of Longford Slashers as favourites for the county final on the other side of the river Shannon looks like a strong opinion from the Magic Sign, but that’s as much about the injury to Francis Magee as anything else. Between Magee’s absence, Dromard’s absolute ferocity in the tackle and a Longford Slashers backline that has yet to concede a goal this year, this game has all the ingredients of a 0-7 to 0-5 thriller. Jamesie Martin and Cian Mimnagh are two good scorers who can carry the Dromard attack in the absence of Magee, but Longford Slashers have been doing a lot of work at underage level and the general consensus around the county is that this is the year when they bridge the sixteen year gap since their last title.

But yet, at the odds offered, the only bet you should have is on Dromard at 13/8. The North Longford club aren’t the most popular team in the county, but their competitiveness and will to win is sufficient to ensure that they should cause the town club plenty of problems. This game looks certain to go down to the wire in a ferocious dog fight, and at 13/8, the Dromard lads are the meanest dogs in the house at a great price. This column recommends a 2pt bet on Dromard at 13/8.

Moving a bit further north again, Cavan Gaels and Roslea are both priced very short at 1/6 and 1/7 respectively, but their performances so far suggest that they should win with ease, while the last game we’ll look at this weekend is the Sligo football final, featuring Eastern Harps and Tourlestrane.

This is the third county final in four years featuring these two clubs and both games so far have Tourlestrane win by way of scoring the only goal in the game. Eastern Harps did pick up a county title in 2008 when Tourlestrane were essentially knocked out of the championship by June, but on form and on head to head record, the 2009 champions are justifiably favoured at 8/13. Eastern Harps possess one of the best defensive units in Sligo, led by Ross Donovan, and though their attack is still heavily dependent on Paul Taylor, they have averaged 1-14 in each of their four championship games this year. Their quarter final win over St Mary’s was one of the best games played in Sligo this year and while they might find it difficult to secure a win against a very experienced Tourlestrane team, this is one of those games where draw backers look sure to get a run for their money at 15/2.

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