The GAA might pride itself on being an all-inclusive organisation, but a quick look at the media coverage for national league games will tell you where their interests really lie. Expect full page spreads on the big battles in division one, plenty of coverage of Mickey Harte and Kieran McGeeney as they attempt to drag their respective teams out of division two, while everyone else fights for the scraps from the Masters’ table!

However here at Starbets, we’re nothing if not pragmatic. A 2/1 winner in a division four basement battle watched by five men, three maor uisce and a dog is just as good as a 2/1 winner at Croke Park or Páirc Uí Chaoimh, so here now is our preview for the first week of division 3 and division 4 action.

Antrim vs Sligo

These two counties have become joined at the hip in recent years and this will be their eighth meeting since 2006 in the league, meaning that they have met each other more often than any other pairing in that time. Whether it’s promotion or relegation, neither county likes to do anything without the other and as such it’s no surprise that the bookies are finding it hard to split them in advance of tonight’s battle at Casement Park. Boylesports make the home side their ever-so-slight favourites, while Hills give the most tentative of nods to the visitors from the North West, but every other layer is right on the fence, offering even money each of two. Initially we were inclined towards sharing the view held by Hills, but the news that David Kelly doesn’t start was enough for us to recant. The Tubbercurry forward has been in fantastic form for DCU so far this season and while we think that Sligo might be able to get a good result without him, unless you’re in Casement Park and you see his distinctive red hair bobbing into the corner for the throw in, this is a no bet game.

London vs Fermanagh

The odds of 1/7 and 1/8 about a Fermanagh win might seem odd in the light of the most recent result between these two teams, but there is no contrast between the Fermanagh team of 2011 and the 2012 version under the tutelege of Peter Canavan. If there was a handicap bet to be had, we’d be suggesting that Fermanagh would cover, but there isn’t, so our hands remain in our pockets for this one too.

Clare vs Waterford

Not many football supporters from north of the Suir river will realise quite how talented the two O’Gorman brothers are, and how much of a blow their defection to the hurling panel is to John Kiely and his selectors. There still are some fine footballers in this Waterford team and they can certainly consider themselves unlucky to have made the drop last year after three of their five league defeats were by a goal or less, but Clare looked decent in preseason competition. Home advantage is worth a couple of points, while the availability of the Kilmurry-Ibrickane players is worth a few more.

Kilkenny vs Wicklow

Kilkenny’s forfeiture against Louth in the O’Byrne Cup could easily turn out to be their best result of the year. Wicklow to win by as much as they like, not that this is any use to us.

Leitrim vs Limerick

Limerick will feel very hard done by to be playing division four football and they now share with Roscommon the remarkable record of having reached an All Ireland quarter final one year only to play basement league football the year after. And no game more typifies division four than a trip to Páirc Séan MacDiarmada to play Leitrim. There is no glamour or glory to be had, but anything less than complete and total commitment will see you coming home empty handed. Limerick to win, but not without a fight.

Longford vs Offaly

The few bits of 8/11 about Longford that were floating around earlier in the week have disappeared a long time ago and now 4/7 is the best that can be had about a home win here. It’s easy to see why those prices were taken – Longford are much further on in their development while Offaly are going into battle without their standout player in Niall McNamee. Longford should win with a bit over a goal to spare.

Roscommon vs Tipperary

Tipperary bring a very strong, seasoned outfit up to Kiltoom for this fixture and against a Roscommon team shorn of their St Brigids players, they will be expected to come home with the points. However it may not turn out to be that simple against a Roscommon team with plenty of scoring still in their team. Logic dictates that the 11/8 from Hills about an away win is the way to go, but we’re going to stay on the fence in this one in terms of the result.

However these are two good goalscoring sides and neither is either team particularly convincing in the full back line. Ladbrokes are offering 3/1 about over 2.5 goals in this game and that’s a decent shout here.

Wexford vs Cavan

Our antepost tip for the division faces what should be their toughest fixture of the entire campaign when they travel to Wexford Park to take on the antepost favourites for this extremely competitive division. Here at Starbets we were all set to recommend Cavan as a live outsider for this fixture, but that was at a time when we expected them to be offered at something around 3/1. 2/1 doesn’t appeal nearly as much and instead the best play is to stick with Cavan on the outright market. Even if they lose here they still have a great chance, while a win will see their outright price slashed right into 7/2 or 4/1.

Division 3 and Division 4 recommendations

Clare vs Waterford: Clare @ 4/5 (Bet365, Boylesports, Powers, Hills)

Leitrim vs Limerick: Limerick to win by 1-3 pts @ 13/5 (Powers)

Longford vs Offaly: Longford -1 pt @ 10/11 (Bet365)

Roscommon vs Tipperary: Over 2.5 goals @ 3/1 (Ladbrokes)

The big market move this weekend has definitely been for the Tipperary footballers, who have gone from generally being offeres as 6/4 shots into 4/5 and 10/11 with most bookmakers. Paddy Power have really ducked the Premier men, going 4/7 about a home win in the McGrath Cup semi-final.

One thing is for certain, the Tipperary management will be hopeful of a much stiffer challenge this weekend because warm up games against Limerick IT and Waterford IT are no preparation for playing in the national football league. Those two colleges are way out of their depth in the McGrath Cup, even though Limerick IT did play some good football in their first round match. If UCC play up to their potential then we’d be recommending siding with the skull and crossbones wearers at odds against, however with the first round of the Sigerson Cup looming ever closer and little or nothing at stake, the worry here is that this flow of money emanates from people with an inside track who know that UCC will be taking their foot off the gas this week. If you’re one of those, then by all means pile in, but bookmakers shops all over Ireland are littered with people who have lighter wallets on account of following money, with no real insight as to why they were doing so. This column isn’t about to make that same mistake.

Now that the finallists of the FBD league competition have been decided, there is little or nothing at stake out west this week, so keeping stakes very low is again the correct course. Roscommon might be capable of upping their game for a battle with neighbours Mayo and 10/3 from Powers and Hills is probably worth a small, speculative wager, but only because of the big price. Based on the form shown so far, Mayo would win this one playing in ice skates, but form is temporary any time, all the more so in January.

Up north the bookmakers are probably on the ball with regard to their pricing, though 5/2 about Fermanagh knocking off Tyrone (Powers) will get some small level of support. Tyrone have much bigger fish to fry while Peter Canavan won’t want to be outdone by his home county men twice in a week, but will to win needs to be augmented by the ability to do so. We’re not quite sure if Fermanagh have enough of the latter quality, though they are brimming with the former.

Finally we look to Leinster, where Meath are favoured to overcome DCU in Navan and the Newbridge stewards are preparing themselves for a full house (at least if reckoned by their new, lower official capacity) when the Dubs come to town for the other O’Byrne Cup semi final. This column already has an outright bet on Kildare on the record so there’s no need to post up another, but everything we argued a week ago holds true. Kildare are playing well, flying fit and crucially, though Dublin would like to beat Kildare, Kildare need to beat Dublin. They won’t meet them in the league this year so this will be a crucial statement of intent in advance of the Leinster championship. Both managers will relish the opportunity to play such a fiercely competitive game this early in the year and this fixture will undoubtedly stand to both counties in advance of the big double header in Croke Park to open the league in two weeks’ time, but for now Kildare look better poised to come through what should be a very enjoyable game.

Ladbrokes are 4/5 about these teams combining for more than 28.5 points in Newbridge – with mild weather forecast and a high pace almost certain, that’s good enough for us for today.

Weekend GAA Recommendations

Mayo vs Roscommon: Roscommon to win @ 10/3 (Powers, Hills)

Kildare vs Dublin: Over 28.5 points @ 4/5 (Ladbrokes)

Hot on the heels of the first part of our series, now we detail the top half of our hurling power rankings. We left off the first part with one county that had just recruited a local legend to take the reins so now, we resume with another….

7. Clare (8 – Slight improvement)

With a proven manager in charge and a lot of fine young prospects coming into their prime, Clare should be set to move well up the pecking order in the next few years, though Banner supporters will be slightly worried that they haven’t made more ground up by now. Last year in the Fitzgibbon Cup there were ten colleges that were competitive – Clare had 22 starters for these ten colleges, more than any other county, with the exception of Kilkenny. The significance of this is that Fitzgerald can afford to push his team very hard because the depth is there in the county to sustain a few losses. If players like Darach Honan, John Conlon, Caimín Morey and the like start to deliver on their huge potential they will shoot up the rankings and secure some very big wins, but we’ll temper our expectations for the moment and say that a Munster semi final win against Waterford is well within their grasp.

6. Galway (4 – Slight improvement)

Loads of underage talent, a new manager at the helm with a good track record, and a club championship that yet again proved itself to be one of the deepest in the country in terms of talent – you’ll forgive us if we say that we’ve heard it all before. On paper, Galway should be there or thereabouts every year, and yet they’ve only reached the last four once in the last ten championship campaigns. In 2010 they absolved themselves by saying that they should have beaten Tipperary, who went on to win the All Ireland. There can be no such excuse in 2011 after an abject defeat to Waterford, who should have been mentally broken after leaking seven goals in the Munster final. Logic dictates they should improve, but on the other hand, why would 2012 be any different to every other year when they promised greatness only to fall way short?

5. Waterford (6 – Disimprovement)

Time to get off the fence here. This column’s view is that people don’t realise yet what an incredible job David Fitzgerald did with very limited material in Waterford, so subsequently they will struggle to keep up the same standard next year and will probably slip down the order considerably. They may not be overtaken by too many other counties, but they ended 2011 maybe seven or eight points off All Ireland winning standard – expect that to move out to double figures at least. There are some good young hurlers in the county but it’s hard to look at those hurlers under 25 in the county and say that any of them have the making of another Tony Browne, John Mullane or Brick Walsh, all of whom are either retired or nearing that stage. Their first round league meeting with Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn is a massive fixture for them. Relegation to 1B will be difficult to avoid if they don’t win that tie, and their players might not have the mental strength to overcome a setback of that nature.

4. Limerick (7 – Slight disimprovement)

Their bookmaker ranking of seven is a little harsh and is probably more a reflection of the Munster championship draw that pits them against Tipperary in the quarter final. They appeared to turn a corner in 2011 and after comfortably securing promotion, they were narrowly edged out by Waterford in a wonderful Munster final. Their qualifier performances were very solid and they can consider themselves very unlucky to lose out to Dublin in a game where goals were very much the difference between the sides. John Allen will provide a steady hand on the tiller but they need to find a bit more steel in the full back line and possibly a consistent point scorer from play up front, someone who can be depended upon to raise two or three white flags even on a bad day. Right now there is no Limerick forward that meets that description – though several of their younger players could yet grow into that role.

3. Dublin (3 – improvement)

Not unlike Kildare in football, Dublin are in a “don’t look down” situation. They are going hell for leather and continue to take steps forward as a result, but standing still is not an option for them as they will slip right back as soon as they do. The second they take their foot off the accelerator, they will struggle to rediscover their momentum and they need Anthony Daly to keep pushing his players on. He’s not without fuel for the fire however – they proved in 2011 that they can win big games, they showed no fear of Tipperary in the All Ireland semi final and next year’s draw is ideal for them. Tthey can take on Kilkenny early and either secure that elusive championship win over the Cats, or else take their time and rebuild through the qualifiers and use what they learned later in the year. They have youth on their side, and Conal Keaney’s return will change their dynamic completely. Genuine All Ireland contenders in 2012.

2. Tipperary (2 – Slight disimprovement)

Consistently strong throughout the team, but Eoin Kelly continues to slow down and Lar Corbett struggled in the All Ireland final. Being so one-sided at the top level of the game was always likely to cause problems for the Sarsfields man and now that the Cats have figured out how to counteract Tipperary’s pattern of movement up front, Corbett will struggle to get himself into the same goalscoring positions. There are too many good hurlers in the county for Declan Ryan ever to have to field a “weak link” but in contrast to Kilkenny, how many Tipperary hurlers can we say are definitely the number one in Ireland in their position? Michael Cahill, Padraic Maher and Corbett are the only three that stand out and none of those man a central role. It’s a lot more than some other counties have, but you need more than that to usurp this Kilkenny team.

1. Kilkenny (1 – No change)

Yet again, Brian Cody took apart a good team and rebuilt it to become even better. In 2009, Kilkenny won the All Ireland but it was clear that Tipp were gaining ground and in 2010 the Premier men deservedly took the big prize. Last year Kilkenny defied their critics and roared back with an outstanding season and it’s hard to pick holes in any aspect of their setup. For as long as Brian Cody retains his incredible thirst for success and Henry Shefflin continues to compete at his incredibly high level they will be right up there, but next year they will have to be on guard for a challenge from Dublin. They’ve got Tipp figured out for the moment at least, but Dublin could have the fresh approach that might be their undoing. Deserved favourites and the best team in Ireland right now however.

Following on from yesterday, let’s continue our pre-Christmas rundown on the state of play of the various counties as they approach the start of the 2012 pre season. As before, the number on the left is their Starbets ranking, the number in brackets is where they are ranked in the betting for Sam Maguire in 2012, followed by our prediction for where they will be ranked this time next year.

25. Sligo (18 – Slight improvement)
It’s been quite the fall from grace for Sligo, who only eighteen months ago had just beaten Galway and Mayo and were odds on favourites to win a Connacht title. They let their chance slip against the Rossies in the Connacht decider, before collapsing against Down in the qualifiers and enduring a terrible season in 2011. Manager Kevin Walsh has some of the best individual defenders in Ireland playing for the Yeats county, while David Kelly is a fine scoring threat, but from 8 to 12 the team is weak and they need to find a lot of improvement this year. Division three should give them a chance to get off to a good start and gain some confidence, but they can ill afford to start slowly and need results sooner rather than later.

24. Cavan (25 – Significant improvement)

2012 is a massive year for Cavan football. The Breffni men have been in the doldrums (as opposed to the drumlins!) for too long now and manager Val Andrews knows that he needs to start turning things around. The success of their under-21 panel last year will provide an invaluable injection of fresh blood into the senior panel and while the poor performance of Cavan Gaels was a disappointment, if they can address issues in the wide defensive positions, they certainly have enough flair up front to cause teams real problems.

23. Tipperary (22 – slight disimprovement)

With new county champions coming from territory that usually doesn’t make a huge contribution to the county team and an All Ireland winning group of minor footballers, the long term prognosis for Tipperary football is very, very bright. However it could be a few years yet before things really start to improve and there is a real danger that too much will be asked of a lot of young footballers before they are ready to deliver. Barry Grogan’s incredible talent will keep them in touch in games but for now, Tipperary should be happy just to hold on to division three status and keep things ticking over for the next couple of years.

22. Louth (20 – Disimprovement)

Not unusually for Louth football, most of their best work was done in the Spring as opposed to the summer in 2011. They enjoyed a good O’Byrne Cup, they got off to a great start in the league but then started to stutter as the ground began to harden, even if they did muster up a big performance in the Division 3 final. However their deterioration continued in the championship and they could be about to learn the same lesson that Mayo did when John O’Mahony was elected to the Dáil – if a manager is working as a TD, he won’t be able to give his county team as much attention as they deserve and results will reflect that.

21. Westmeath (19 – Slight disimprovement)

After deservedly securing promotion in 2011, they may feel hard done by to still be ranked in the bottom half, but it’s hard to ignore two very poor championship performances against mid-ranking opposition. Some very good young footballers have emerged from the Lake County in recent years, even if one of the best of them (John Heslin) is out in Australia, but Denis Glennon has yet to prove that he can carry the team in the same way that Dessie Dolan has done for over a decade now. There is potential for improvement here, but it’s going to be a tough campaign in division 2 and the ominous presence of Dublin in their quarter of the Leinster draw probably limits their capacity, in Leinster at least.

20. Offaly (21 – Slight disimprovement)

They mixed the good with the bad in the league, digging out three crucial away wins while losing out on promotion due to bad performances against Westmeath and Tipperary. This trend continued in the championship with two awful performances and one very impressive one against Monaghan. For 2012, their fate will depend on how their twenty-something footballers grow up in the absence of Ciarán McManus, who played some of his best football last year. The Tubber midfielder was a huge presence in the Offaly dressing room and a new look team is likely to take the field this year – which could be no bad thing, though they will meet more than a few bumps along the road.

19. Antrim (24 – Slight improvement)

The Ulster championship draw has worked out very nicely for Antrim and they’ll rightly believe that they have every chance of making real progress next year. Some of the best young footballers in Ulster should be breaking into their squad very soon and if they can keep a lid on some of the more explosive characters in the dressing room, they have a lot of the ingredients needed to make progress.

18. Longford (23 – Slight disimprovement)

Unquestionably the most improved county in 2011, Glen Ryan has stamped his authority on this team but at the same time allowed the natural, attacking style of the players in the county to flourish. The issue now will be building and sustaining the progress that was made since he took over, a task which should be made easier by the existence of a few very bright young prospects that were part of the Leinster minor winning team in 2010. The old reliable attackers like Brian Kavanagh and the Bardens aren’t getting any younger, but they have some excellent man marking defenders and a lot of good energy around the middle of the field. Their first round battle with Laois in Pearse Park already looks like it could be one of the most enjoyable games in the championship.

The going was pretty testing at Tipperary on Sunday and the overnight going was given as yielding to soft for Tuesday’s seven-race jumps card at the track.

Division One of the 2m maiden hurdle gets things under way at 1.55.

Flycorn suggested that he was getting it together over hurdles last time and is likely to head the market.

Back In A Tic, with Paul Townend booked to ride, improved to finish second at Listowel last time and she is entitled to run well.

Flat winners Hawkhill and the dual Sligo 10f winner Walter de la Mare both showed promise over hurdles last season and come here with a recent run under their belts.

At the likely prices, Walter de la Mare looks a value option to the favourite.

The second division of the maiden hurdle (2:25) lacks strength.

The Charles Byrnes-trained Captain Dancer, who achieved a rating of 82 on the flat, is interesting on his hurdling debut and the market may prove to be your best guide to his chance.

Noel Meade tends to do well with his runners at this time of year and he runs Mickelson, who has shown promise in three bumper runs. Along with Deep Determination, who also makes his hurdling debut after showing bumper promise, he has to be rated a leading player.

If the market vibe is good, Captain Dancer is taken to score.

There is another 2m maiden hurdle at 2:55, in which bumper winner Castle Wings has to be respected on his hurdling debut.

Worldly Wise has finished second in six of his last nine completed races and is a leading contender here.

Sea Of Thunder caught the eye when last seen over hurdles but has been off the track for 334 days and Imperial Joey has solid enough form at this level.

All things considered, though, the dual point-to-point winner Farrells Fancy, who showed plenty of promise when second on his hurdling debut last time, is rated as the one to beat.

The 2m4f handicap hurdle (3:25) can go to Mr Pernickety, Ruby Walsh being an eye-catching booking for a horse that is now just five pounds above a recent winning mark, and who would have needed his latest run.

His main dangers could prove to be Giant Sequoia and Markey Cee, while Lillymile improved to win a soft-ground maiden hurdle last time beating Imperial Joey, who runs earlier on the card.

Rivage d’Or was at one time rated 137 over hurdles and, if he transfers that level of ability to fences, he should prove hard to beat in the 2m7f Beginners’ Chase (3:55).

Forjoetheplumber, who showed solid form at this level last season, and Ballinahow Lady, who actually finished just under four lengths behind the selection in a handicap hurdle in February, are rated as the main dangers.

In the 2m4f Beginners’ Chase (4:25), Barel Of Laughs gets a tentative vote in a modest contest. Celtic Wish, Portrait King and Tistobesure made it onto the short list.

In the final race on the card, the Finale of 2011 INH Flat RACE, the Willie Mullins-trained Local Celebrity, who has finished second on each of his three starts to date, is likely to be popular.

He comes here fit, for sure, but, in a race where a fair few have shown bumper promise, the point-to-point winner War Of Words could go well at a reasonable price.

Tipperary Tips:

1:55 – Walter de la Mare 8/1
2:25 – Captain Dancer (NB) 2/1
2:55 – Farrells Fancy 7/4
3:25 – Mr Pernickety 8/1
3:55 – Rivage d’Or (NAP) 1/1
4:25 – Barel Of Laughs 7/1
4:55 – War Of Words 7/1

Everyone at Tipperary will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the course passed a 7.30am inspection, thus ensuring that the track’s big day of the year is set to go ahead with any problems.

The mixed eight-race card features some big names among the jumping fraternity in particular, with First Lieutenant’s eagerly-awaited debut over the larger obstacles probably the chief point of interest. Mouse Morris’ Cheltenham Festival hero has always looked a wonderful prospect for this discipline and the experience he gained when winning a point-to-point back in 2009 should really stand to him in today’s Grade 3 Like-A-Butterfly Novice Chase. Slieveardagh, who had taken well to fences himself, notching wins here and at Listowel, looks easily his main threat.

Captain Cee Bee is a notable defector from the Grade 2 Friends of Tipperary Hurdle, thus scuppering a rematch with old foe The Real Article in the 2m contest at 3.40, and last year’s winner Donnas Palm could be the one to take advantage. Noel Meade’s fine servant is reported to be back to something like his best at home following a wind operation and may prove too strong for another admirable sort in Luska Lad, who is best treated by the race conditions but probably wants further ideally.

Anam Allta, runner-up to the ultra-progressive Alanza in a Listed event at today’s venue last time, looks best-placed to capitalise on a spate of withdrawals from the Group 3 Concorde Stakes. Dermot Weld’s filly is open to plenty of improvement, and the Rosewell House handler could also take the opening two year-old maiden courtesy of Mahaazen despite a less than ideal draw.

Tipperary Selections

2.00 – Mahaazen
2.35 – Toufan Express
3.05 – Anam Allta
3.40 – Donnas Palm
4.10 – Tavern Times
4.40 – Double Seven
5.15 – First Liutenant
5.45 – Saint Gervais

Longchamp 3.15: Sarafina (Each way 5-1 bet 365):

A fascinating renewal of this great race, The Prix Del Arc De Triomphe, and it looks to be a very open event this year, with no really outstanding horse such as Zarkava or Sea The Stars in the race. For the selection, I will go along with the French trained and Aga Khan owned Sarafina , who was slightly unlucky in the corresponding race a year ago and has been brought along slowly this year with today’s contest her prime target. One feature of Arc winners is that it always takes as horse with a few gears and a sharp turn of foot to win the race and this daughter of Refuse To Bend seems to tick the right boxes.
She was badly impeded at a crucial stage a year ago but impressed with how she quickened up on the wide outside and she has the capability of making up significant ground very quickly. Stall 13 is the obvious concern but if Christophe Lemaire can get her settled out the back in a nice position and try not to get caught too wide, then the draw should not prove an insurmountable barrier. They are likely to go a fast pace which should play into the hands of the closers and I take Sarafina to swoop with a late rattle.

Longchamp 4.45: Announce (3-1 Sporting Bet Nap Of Day):

Not an overly strong renewal of the Prix Del Opera and I take the four year old Announce to keep her younger rivals at bay. Andre Fabre’s filly boasts the strongest form credentials here by virtue of her placings behind Sarafina and Cirrus Des Aigles earlier in the season and she was impressive on her latest start at Deauville, quickening nicely to beat the useful Timepiece. She looks to have more tactical speed than Irish filly Banimpire and a few of the other contenders have to prove truly up to this level. Andre Fabre will no doubt have this daughter of Selkirk well primed for Arc day and she should prove hard to beat.

Tipperary 2.35: Daring Man (20-1 Bet 365):

Daring Man is a frustrating customer and a very hard horse to win with but he might be worth a small interest at a nice price today. I an banking on the heavy ground really, being a boost to his chances and having an adverse affect on some of his rivals prospects.The six-year old gelding has been largely out of form this season and hence his big price today, but he has often produced his best form on similarly testing conditions, such as when third to Harriers Call at the Curragh back in 2009 and when third to Barack at Leopardstown last October. His seasonal reappearance this year, again at the Foxrock venue, was not a bad effort and although running poorly on his next three outings, a subsequent summer break might have done him good. He shaped with reasonable promise behind Solent Ridge at Gowran eight days ago and the return to heavy ground today might see him be the surprise packet here.

Tipperary 5.45: Saint Gervais (EVS General) :

This John Kiely-trained gelding has looked a potential star in the making on his last two starts and looks capable of conceding weight all around in the concluding bumper. Given a fine patient ride by Derek O Connor at Galway, the son of Revoque powered away from his rivals up the hill and subsequently won very easily on his nest outing at the Listowel festival. He gave eleven pounds and a three length beating to Owega Star that day with Sin Palo who re-opposes today well back in third.The runner up has franked the form well with a nice hurdle win and Saint Gervais looks one of the best bumper horses in Ireland at present.

Kilkenny’s win over Tipperary on Sunday at Croke Park has set Boylesports back a small fortune. Savvy punters backed the Cats all week, who were the underdogs for the first time in an All Ireland Hurling final since 2006. The firm were forced to pay out an estimated €200,000 to punters who got behind Brian Cody’s army.

Boylesports also paid out on Richie Hogan as first goalscorer thanks to their summer long “Every 2nd Counts” cashback promotion. The Kilkenny corner forward scored the second goal of the final to leave customers delighted.

Meanwhile, Tipperary are still the 5/4 favourites to win the 2012 All Ireland SHC while Kilkenny are snapping at their heels at 6/4. The Dubs can be backed at 10/1 and Galway at 12/1.

“Hurling punters will have plenty of reasons to celebrate this week after taking the bookies to the cleaners. We don’t always get it right and this time, we certainly got it wrong!”, commented Nicola McGeady, Boylesports PR Spokesperson. “Despite losing the Liam McCarthy Cup on Sunday, we still feel that Tipperary deserve to be the favourites for next year’s All Ireland. The Premier County will have learned a lot from this defeat and with a younger squad than their rivals, we feel they will have even more to give next season”, she continued.

All Ireland SHC 2012

• 5/4 Tipperary
• 6/4 Kilkenny
• 10/1 Dublin
• 12/1 Galway
• 16/1 Cork

Four days remain until the showpiece occasion of the hurling year, and some would argue a match that will have significance way beyond determining the best team in Ireland in 2011.

For Tipperary, this match is a way to prove that last year’s win represented a genuine changing of the guard, and that it wasn’t just a case of being in the right place at the right time, capitalising while Kilkenny struggled to handle the pressure of five in a row and the absence of Henry Shefflin.

For Kilkenny, this Sunday is crucial in proving that this isn’t the end of an era and the beginning of a long, fallow period. Remarkably enough after years of insult from our southern counterparts, the long term future for Leinster hurling looks bright. Dublin now have built a base from which they can look to make a real assault on all the major honours in the game, Galway have yet more good young hurlers coming up through the system and have added real competitiveness to the province, while Wexford began to show some signs of an underage revival this year too. Even Offaly can be competitive in a one off game, albeit the long term future for the Faithful County looks extremely bleak with none of their development teams going well.

In Munster, Cork and Waterford have finally rebuilt their underage structures but both counties have a lot of work to do on their senior teams, while only Limerick look like they might be a real threat to Tipperary next year.

All this demonstrates is that if Kilkenny were to let their standards slip, the leaders of the chasing pack most likely will be operating on their turf. Chances to win All Irelands might not be as plentiful in the future.

In order for them to win on Sunday, they will almost certainly have to do it by way of scoring points. Tipperary have taken their crown as the main goalscoring team in hurling and while Kilkenny are well capable of scoring 2-20 or 1-23, as will probably be needed to win, they haven’t got the inside penetration this year. Eoghan Larkin is not making the inside bursts that once were his forté, Eddie Brennan and Aidan Fogarty are way off form and will do well to even feature off the bench, while Richie Hogan and Richie Power aren’t goalscoring forwards at the same level as Eoin Kelly or Lar Corbett.

Bet365 are offering match odds of 4/6 Tipperary, 8/5 Kilkenny and 19/2 the draw, and while those odds look fair enough, the mismatch seems to be on the first goal market, where they are offering 5/6 Tipperary and 20/21 Kilkenny. Tipperary would be expected to score two goals in this game, and should be a shorter price for this market than they are for the match.

Indeed strictly based on the numbers, 33/1 about a Tipperary goal being the first score of the game looks healthy too. The game’s total goal expectancy is a little over three, of which Tipperary’s should be around 1.9. If Tipperary score two goals in this game, there would have to be 68 scores in total for this bet not to represent value – and while these two sides are well capable of opening up and keeping the umpires busy, 68 scores is a bridge too far to say the least. This should be no bigger than 22/1 based on the numbers, unless there was any reason to believe that Tipp wouldn’t go for goal stright from the off – and in this game, both sides will be keen to get out of the blocks quickly.

As an aside, much has been made of how this is an older Kilkenny team. However it should not be forgotten that Kilkenny have only played three championship games so far this year. There may be mileage on the clock, but that usually manifests itself in the form of niggly injuries, or a lack of short range pace rather than stamina. Even if we do take Kilkenny as the older team – which is a simplistic analysis to say the least – this should not be interpreted as that much of a factor.

Much more relevant is their lack of depth off the bench. John Dalton and Cha Fitzpatrick would be well able to compete at this level, but the cupboard gets a little bare after that, particularly up front. That, more than age, accounts for Tipperary’s favouritism on Sunday. Still, 4/6 is very short about one of two very evenly matched starting teams – hence our recommendation is taking the 5/6 about Tipp getting the first goal, have a small nibble on the two 33/1′s about a Tipp goal being the first scoring play and first scoring play of the second half, and otherwise sit back and enjoy what should be a wonderful and memorable game.

Punters have been heavily supporting Tipperary to beat Kilkenny in this Sunday’s All Ireland Hurling Final at Croke Park. Irish bookmaker, Boylesports, are offering odds of 8/11 that the Premier County win in 70 minutes, while they are available at 8/13 to lift the Liam McCarthy.

A tight encounter is expected as Tipperary are 10/11 to cover the handicap margin of a single point, while the Cats are available at 11/10.

Another market which has attracted plenty of attention is Player of the Year. Tipp’s star player Lar Corbett is the 5/4 favourite to retain the title, but defender Padraic Maher has been subject to most of the support at 4/1.

“The defending champions were given a fright in the semi-final against the Dubs”, commented Nicola McGeady, Boylesports PR Spokesperson.

“However with the fire power of Lar Corbett, Eoin Kelly and Noel McGrath, I think they’ll have just enough to scrape past Kilkenny. Judging by the epic battle of 2009 and 2010, another classic All Ireland Final is surely on the cards!” she continued.

Match Betting
8/11 Tipperary
9/1 Draw
7/5 Kilkenny

Handicap Betting
10/11 Tipperary (-1)
9/1 Tie (-1)
11/10 Kilkenny (+1)

All Ireland SHC Outright
8/13 Tipperary
6/5 Kilkenny

Player of the Year
5/4 Lar Corbett
11/4 Michael Fennelly
4/1 Padraic Maher
13/2 Tommy Walsh
12/1 Henry Shefflin
14/1 Michael Rice
25/1 Eoin Kelly
25/1 Noel McGrath

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