There’s plenty of midweek action in the GAA this week and the crowds should be out in force in Dublin in particular with a full round of the Dublin senior football championship taking place tonight in the capital. There’s also minor football championship in Munster, as Clare and Cork have home advantage for their knockout semi final fixtures with Kerry and Tipperary respectively. Here Starbets is happy to advise a double that pays 2/1 with Boylesports, based on championship and challenge match form so far.

Our first leg, unsurprisingly enough, is Kerry to beat Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis. Clare had a massive first round win over Waterford and Mickey Ned O’Sullivan has been talking up this challenge as if Clare are world beaters – they aren’t. They got plenty of momentum up in their first round clash but Waterford put little or no effort into that team, and while there are a few nice forwards in the Clare side, they’re likely to be found out against a team of Kerry’s quality. Clare got badly found out when they tried to step up against decent opposition on the challenge match circuit and while they have got a good eye for goal, defensively they are very poor and they don’t have the ability to shut down a well designed attack.

Kerry have a relatively young minor team this year with a third of their starting team underage again next year – but not too much should be read into their first round result against Tipperary. Tipp took the field with largely the same team that won the All Ireland last year, and they were always likely to have a big advantage in experience and cohesion against a less well-gelled side, with new management and style. Nonetheless our suspicion is that William Hill are the bookmaker on the ball here and that their odds of 5/1 about a Clare win is much closer to the mark.Clare have secured plenty of big wins over weak opposition in recent years, but they’ve never really stepped up and delivered against good opposition. We expect Kerry to have a strong say in the destination of this All Ireland titel yet, even though they’re probably a little bit short of the standard required to win.

Boylesports are best priced at 1/3 about a Kerry win in Ennis and they’re also best priced at 5/4 about a home win for Cork against All Ireland champions Tipperary. Last year these two counties met in the Munster final and we advised a bet on the Tipp men, but that was due to price. This year price again dictates and while this should be a very competitive fixture, Cork are moving very well under the guidance of Nemo Rangers man Ephie Fitzgerald and they look well poised to give a good account of themselves in front of their home supporters. Certainly they shouldn’t be odds against.

Tipperary manager David Power has had to operate with three of his players also hurling underage for the county but even so he has guided his team to plenty of good results this year on the challenge match circuit. Cork have lost several matches but they have been playing very high class opposition in the shape of Dublin and Kildare and should benefit for those results, even though they have lost a few times out.

This Cork team rounded off their preparations with a comfortable win over Offaly in Tullamore last week, the same Offaly team that drew with Tipperary the previous week. With great strength down the middle of the team and really sharp forwards, Cork can prevail in this tie.

Munster MFC Recommendation

Cork to beat Tipperary, Kerry to beat Clare, Double @ 2/1 (Boylesports)

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.

For Longford and Wexford, these season’s league campaign has been a genuine success, regardless of how they fare in Croke Park on Saturday evening. However for the other six counties that took part in NFL division 3, this year was either a little disappointing or else a complete failure. In the third part of our series of mid-term report cards, we look at the eight division three counties and assess their performances so far.

Longford – A

In contrast to some counties that we will speak about later in this column, Longford are the poster children for the stability, patience and the benefits of sticking to a long term plan. The county has punched above it’s weight at minor and under-21 level in recent years and they’ve put their faith in Glen Ryan, who has rewarded them with a gradual improvement in the fortunes of the county. They’ve introduced some good young players into the team this year and it’s incredible to think that a team who so recently was hugely dependent on Brian Kavanagh and the Bardens is still one of the best attacking sides in the league, even after those key players have slipped past their peak. Already there is a groundswell of momentum suggesting that they will beat Laois in the first round of the Leinster championship, though early prices on offer seem to be allowing for this.

Wexford – B

It’s no surprise that Wexford went well in this league. They’ve had very little player turnover in recent years and manager Jason Ryan is continuing to do good work with the raw material at his disposal. The challenge for them this year is to take the next step in the championship and pull off a win against a team like Kildare or Dublin, or one of their equivalents in the qualifiers. There is good depth in the Wexford squad and the vast majority of players have a lot of years of hard physical training behind them – anyone involved in football will say that in terms of core strength and power, Wexford are up there with the best of them – but the time has come to try and produce something more meaningful, because time is running out. They have to deliver this year, and they know it.

Sligo – C

They come to the summer on the back of three wins in succession and but for narrow defeats in games against Antrim and Cavan, they would have secured a quick return to division two. The emergence of Niall Murphy as an inside forward of real potential was the good news story of the league for Kevin Walsh and his team, though they do concede a lot of scores and need to create a lot of their own – unlike a few years ago where Sligo rarely if ever conceded more than a dozen scores in a game. If Roscommon beat Galway, then look for Sligo to ambush the Rossies in the semi final.

Roscommon – D

A D grade might seem harsh, but Roscommon never really delivered a strong performance during this league campaign and they were distinctly second best in their matches against Longford and Wexford – even though the final two point margins suggested a different story. The success of their under-21 footballers is the good news story in the county for now, but Roscommon don’t need more good young players – they need more of their 22-25 year old footballers to step up and become leaders. In a few very notable cases, that’s simply not happening so far. It’s not that they don’t have potential, but the league told us nothing new.

Antrim – C

Great start, woeful finish, mitigated only by their goalscoring spree against Cavan in the final round. There always was and continues to be plenty of talent in Antrim football, but producing consistent performances seems to be beyond them. Monaghan are there to be ambushed in Ulster but even if they do knock out the Farney County, it’s hard to see them producing a second big game against either Down or Fermanagh. The punter who accurately predicts their mood is a shrewd judge.

Cavan – E

Okay, they escaped relegation – but they didn’t deserve to. They dropped points against a woeful Offaly team and then contrived to lose to a second string Antrim side with their division three lives at stake. Under-21 success is all very well but there are senior footballers in this county that need to start producing and now that they’ve disposed of Val Andrews, they have no more excuses for their mediocrity. They will lose to Donegal in the first round of the championship, that much is certain, but Cavan have been disinterested in the qualifiers for too long – they need to produce a run this summer. We wouldn’t like to bet on it happening.

Tipperary – E

After so many things were going well in Tipperary football, out of nowhere they produced this pig of a league campaign. John Evans decision to walk away in mid-season spoke volumes and if Barry Grogan does decide to head for foreign shores this summer, they have no other forward on form. It’s a great pity after so many positive steps, but right now they simply look like makeweights in the championship.

Offaly – F

The Offaly footballers seem to be taking dysfunctional to all new levels after they produced a shocking league campaign, capped off by a miserable effort to save themselves against Tipperary. Even getting every break going, from an uninspired opponent to unlikely help from the Antrim reserves, and still they couldn’t produce scores. Another manager has walked the plank and now Tom Coffey comes on board and while the former Rhode boss will command plenty of respect, too much damage has been done. A humiliation beckons at the hands of Kildare and God knows what after that.

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)

The pick of the fare on offer is therefore most definitely over jumps, where a trainer better-known for his exploits on the level these days could well be amongst the winners. David Wachman continued his great run of form when sending out a double at Dundalk last night, including the tremendously impressive maiden winner Duntle, and the locally-based handler could well keep up the momentum with Pageboy in the second division of the 2m maiden hurdle at 6.25.

Owned by the Mount Temple Two Syndicate, with whom Wachman enjoyed plenty of success before he was switched to Tom Taaffe, this son of Galileo showed promise in three flat outings last summer and gave the impression he could prosper in his new discipline when making late headway to finish sixth to the useful Maggie Neary on his introduction at Gowran Park last month.

Tobar Na Gaoise was a very useful sort on the level for Jim Bolger, the highlight of his career coming when he defeated the classy Unaccompanied in a handicap at Leopardstown towards the backend of the last turf season, and having taken time to find his feet over obstacles the Whipper gelding appears to have been found a very good opening in the first division. Unique Style, having his first start since joining Arthur Moore, is another fair ex-flat performer but the selection’s previous experience should prove the difference.

Henry de Bromhead is sure to have a strong team lined up for next week’s Punchestown Festival and the County Waterford handler can enjoy a boost ahead of that big fixture in the 3m maiden hurdle, where his representative You Must Know Me is taken to get the better of the frustrating Shrapnel. Successful in a point-to-point earlier this year, the son of Snurge has run well to finish second in a couple of bumpers in the interim and today’s step up in trip for the first time under rules looks sure to stand him in good stead.

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)

After Sizing Europe’s defeat compounded the misery of punters who piled into Hurricane Fly yesterday, it would be understandable if people were nursing their wounds now – however GAA action continues regardless, and tonight we have four under-21 battles down for decision, starting with a clash of two heavyweights in Castlebar.

Mayo vs Galway

It’s not often that you see All Ireland champions starting the season as 6/4 outsiders to defend their crown, but Galway haven’t performed well at the minor grade for some time while Mayo have been the much stronger of the two traditional Connacht powers in the past three years. Galway still have several good players and up front they look particularly decent, but Mayo should have a bit more quality all over the field and with home advantage, their favouritism is justified. However the real value bet to take could be Roscommon at 15/8 outright for this championship. Roscommon and Mayo had little to choose between them in the 2009 Connacht minor championship and they will also be boosted by a few strong footballers from last year’s strong minor side. They’ll have home advantage for the semi-final and based on their challenge match form so far, they are capable but inconsistent. When we allow for the fact that they will be long odds on in the final if they beat Galway or Mayo in Kiltoom, that makes the 15/8 on offer from Powers very attractive.

Fermanagh vs Tyrone

Fermanagh under-21 manager Mark Henry is highly rated within the county but he looks to have too stiff a challenge on his hands in Enniskillen tonight. Tyrone have a very deep panel with a lot of capable players and the fact that we don’t know more about some of them says a lot more about Mickey Harte’s lack of willingness to discard his proven footsoldiers than it does about the players’ ability. However big handicaps are always hard to call and this match looks best left aside. Tyrone probably should cover on talent alone, but away from home it’s just not a good betting match.

Limerick vs Clare

Neither of these sides are particularly highly rated this year and it seems as if they are essentially playing for the right to be filleted by Cork in the next round. A late goal sucker punched the Banner men in this fixture last year but Clare seem to have retained more of their 2011 players and they could be well poised to deliver revenge this evening. Clare’s recent national league win over Limerick was a change in momentum at this level and while we were all poised to tip them up here on Starbets, the late money for Limerick that has led Powers and Boylesports to cut their price suggests that some of Clare’s complaints about injury and illness earlier in the week might have been a little bit more than the usual pre match poor mouthing. Enough for us to steer clear anyway.

Kerry vs Tipperary

A lot was expected of this Tipperary team in preseason and against a Kerry side that lacks star quality, their supporters will be hoping for big things tonight. Nonetheless it’s been a terrible season so far for Tipperary football and this is probably a year too soon for some of last year’s minor team. On the other hand, Kerry have been very poor at this grade for some time and at 9/4, it could be worth a small, speculative punt on an upset.

U21 Championship Recommendations

Kerry vs Tipperary: Tipperary to win @ 9/4 (Boylesports)

Connacht Championship Outright: Roscommon to win @ 15/8 (Powers)

The GAA public and indeed the GAA betting community are certainly spoilt for choice this weekend, with an array of games to choose from in both football and hurling. Plenty of counties are already in dire need of points in the football league, but with such a short season for the main hurling counties, they too will be eager to either continue their current momentum or else undo the damage done in week one. We’ll start our previews with the small ball code this week.

Waterford vs Kilkenny

Any notion of Kilkenny starting the year with a post All Ireland hangover was well and truly blown out of the water in their league opener against Tipperary when they blew away a very rusty looking Premier County team. Waterford actually played moderately well for long stretches of their game against Cork, particularly when the number of key absentees was factored in. However a burst of goals in the second quarter proved crucial and so the Rebels ended up with a relatively comfortable win.

This match might be set for Walsh Park, but the simple fact of the matter is that Kilkenny are too motivated and too strong at this time of year to be opposed. William Hill offer a six point handicap, similar to the rest of the firms in the marketplace, but they are the only firm going odds against about that outcome and that’s good enough for us.

Dublin vs Cork

Another big Spring occasion for the Dublin hurlers in Croke Park and certainly they have a lot of dirty diesel to get out of their system if the Walsh Cup and opening league round are anything to go by. This column was somewhat skeptical of Jimmy Barry Murphy’s ability to make silk purses out of the sows ears that we saw hurling for Cork in 2011, but we’re not going to make the same mistake again. On the other hand, neither is it remotely sensible to back Cork to win, at odds on, away from home, against a team that are better than they are. We can only throw logic out the window so much. No bet here.

Tipperary vs Galway

Galway haven’t beaten Tipperary in their last six league and championship meetings now and their most recent clash, in Salthill last year, saw the Premier men come away with an eighteen point win. A similar result is unlikely here but even so the only logical play is siding with Tipperary to cover Boylesports’ two point spread. Rumours of unhappiness in the Tipperary camp with the management of Declan Ryan are gathering momentum but there still are too many outstanding hurlers in there to be dismissed, while their Waterford Crystal Cup win over Clare last weekend kept them sharp.

Galway manager Anthony Cunningham has a tough task on his hands balancing the dual requirements of the Galway hurlers and the Garrycastle footballers but he has done a good job with a young Galway panel so far. Nonetheless beating a weakened Dublin team at home is one thing – going away to Tipp and winning is quite another.

Laois vs Limerick

Both these sides endured painful reverses in local derbies in round one and it’s reasonable to assume that there will be a certain amount of backlash on both sides. The sending off of Mick McEvoy had a lot to do with Laois’ result against Offaly as it allowed the home side to endow David Kenny with a free role and he duly mopped up a mountain of ball in the Laois forward line. If they can resist the urge to lose a man this time around, Laois can actually be quite competitive here in a game that they really need to go well in. Lose here and a winless league campaign is very, very likely.

Clare vs Antrim

Based on their form in the first round of the league, Clare will be winning this tie by as much as they like, particularly since Antrim are not good travellers in this competition. The Northerners will test anyone at Casement Park, but the long trips south tend to take it out of them. Nonetheless the bookies seem to have it right here and backing Clare to win by ten or more is essentially betting on their levels of motivation.They might have been happy to put Limerick to the sword when the opportunity arose, but they’ve no axe to grind with the Glensmen.

Wexford vs Offaly

Historically the home side usually won league encounters between these two sides, though at the moment the two counties seem to be in very different places and it’s the visitors who have the more cause for optimism in advance of Sunday’s tie. Offaly seem to have done a much better job of finding a manager since Ollie Baker has fitted right in at the helm of the Faithful County, while Liam Dunne is finding that life is a lot tougher managing Wexford than it was when managing Oulart. The return of Diarmuid Lyng to training is a massive, massive boost to the county as the Model County have never adequately replaced Lyng’s all round ability in the forward line, but this weekend is probably a bit too early for him to make a meaningful contribution. Offaly should win on form, but history precludes us from putting that recommendation on the books.

Weekend NHL Recommendations

Waterford vs Kilkenny: Kilkenny -6pts @ 11/10 (Hills)

Tipperary vs Galway: Tipperary -2pts @ 4/5 (Boylesports)

Laois vs Limerick: Laois +5pts @ 1/1 (Hills)

The start of the national hurling league this weekend is long awaited by hurling supporters and while small ball enthusiasts will undoubtedly lament the reduction in the number of games due to the revamped league structure, they certainly can’t complain about the range of viewing options on offer this week. Three matches will be broadcast live, while deferred coverage is available for Galway vs Dublin. Taking Division 1A first, here’s our rundown on the three games taking place in that division.

Cork vs Waterford

It’s hard to know what was more surprising – the initial lines of 1/2 Cork, or the fact that even at that level, the money has all been for the Rebels. Far be it from a humble columnist such as this one to question the managerial nous and skill of Jimmy Barry Murphy, but turning the 2011 Cork hurlers, the same team who narrowly scraped past Offaly and got demolished by Galway in their most recent championship outings, into a side who deserve to be three point favourites over Waterford is up there with turning water into wine and if this price is justified, the man is clearly a miracle worker. There will always be depth in Cork hurling but it’s been over a decade now since the county won either a minor or under-21 All Ireland and a lot of their key players seemed to be on their last legs in 2011. John Mullane is a crucial absentee but this is still a quite strong Waterford team, entitled to be in with a great shout here.

Waterford’s preseason form is not a concern, but rumours that players aren’t happy in the dressing room very much is. For that reason, we’ll still side with Waterford but keep the stakes low and look to get a good return with a winning margin bet. Maybe the money will turn out to be right, but we suspect that if it is, that should say a lot more about Waterford than it does about Cork.

Kilkenny vs Tipperary

This time last year Tipperary came in as All Ireland champions into this fixture and Kilkenny blew them off the park, displaying much greater levels of hunger and aggression. It follows that the Premier men should be well poised to return the favour after being dethroned last September, but the very notion of a Kilkenny team lacking hunger is almost impossible to conceive. Ladbrokes and Powers are both going after Kilkenny money with their match betting of 8/11, but the sight of Kilkenny winning the Walsh Cup while operating at half pace should have them thinking twice about this. 8/11 is good enough for us.

Galway vs Dublin

The dynamic of this fixture changed utterly in Limerick during the week when Joe Canning limped out of Limerick IT’s Fitzgibbon Cup quarter final clash with GMIT. His college were well able to close out the game without him, but it’s hard to have confidence in Galway without their talismanic leader up front. Normally that would be cause for a bet on Dublin, but the Dubs burned a lot of fuel in 2011 and manager Anthony Daly has let his players rest a little this winter. They’re something of an unknown quantity coming into this game and while they narrowly get the Starbets vote because of the price, it’s not with a huge degree of confidence.

Division 1A Recommendations

Cork vs Waterford: Waterford by 4-6 pts @ 9/1 (Powers)

Kilkenny vs Tipperary: Kilkenny to win @ 8/11 (Powers, Ladbrokes)

Galway vs Dublin: Dublin to win @ 7/4 (BetVictor)

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)

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