Now that we’ve covered the intercounty football action this weekend, all that remains is to take a look at the hurling, club and minor action that is also down for decision. In no particular order, here’s a sprinkling of recommendations from the variety of matches taking place all across Ireland.

Minor Football

Both Dublin and Kildare start as prohibitively short priced favourites in the Leinster minor chammpionship this afternoon. Dublin won the Leinster minor league very well, but still will have taken plenty of lessons from a tough final battle with Meath and their round robin draw with Offaly. They look to be going well again, even though it’s an almost entirely new team with only a small handful of players from the 2011 squad still eligible. Longford probably don’t have the players to cause an upset here, but Louth might against an equally well fancied Kildare side.

Louth have struggled at minor level for a long time but they have shown some decent form so far this year and their second half performance against Westmeath looks even better now that the midlanders have gone on to beat Carlow in the qualifiers. Kildare are a very strong team and the Athy pair of David Hyland and Niall Kelly at 6 and 11 respectively are hugely impressive young players, but no group of teenagers can be trusted to play to form all the time, while the large squad in Kildare means that they might be less sure of their best team than some other sides. Boylesports are 9/2 about a Louth win here and that’s enough to justify a small, speculative bet.

Leinster SHC

At the start of the year, punters would have struggled to separate Carlow and Westmeath. Equally, it would have been the view that there was little to call between Laois and Antrim. Those who say that the league is irrelevant need only to look at the betting for today’s games to see that the bookmakers still attach plenty of significance to Spring hurling. Carlow and Antrim went well and so are well fancied, while Laois and Westmeath are very easy to lay.

Antrim should beat Westmath and their price is probably correct, but it’s possible that the market is overestimating the chance of an upset in Dr Cullen Park. Carlow manager Kevin Ryan has come out and claimed that he’s not getting the effort from his players since they won the league – on the one hand there is probably some degree of exaggeration here for the sake of effect, but it’s still not a good sign. Carlow would need to be firing on all cylinders to beat Laois here and it’s odd that there is a disconnect between the match and handicap prices in this fixture – nowhere more than at Ladbrokes, where they are 4/6 about a Laois win and 8/11 Laois minus one on their handicap betting market.

Galway SHC

The relegation battles start this weekend and one of the most intriguing fixtures will be the meeting of Carnmore and Liam Mellows at Athenry tomorrow. It’s unusual in this say and age for teams to be eliminated from a Senior Championship by mid-May, but that’s exactly the situation that these two clubs find themselves in, and picking themselves up to save their senior status is a very different challenge to trying to win a title. Carnmore are a small, close knit club whereas Liam Mellows are a city team, with a bigger pick but perhaps lacking the same solidarity. Neither club has shown any form so far this year – they wouldn’t be in this mess if they had – but if Carnmore can harness the sense of hurt they would have felt after losing to Padraig Pearses by a point, they could be the better betting option here.

Offaly SFC

Needless to say this columnist was always going throw a quick shout to the Offaly championship, where the big event will be the double header in O’Connor Park tomorrow afternoon. The second leg of this double header involves champions Edenderry taking on Tullamore and while Tullamore were very disappointing last year, they’ve always gone well under the guidance of former player Phil O’Reilly, who once again takes charge of his home town. Edenderry’s championship run last year centred around some great play from Richie Dalton and Seán Pender, neither of whom have hit form yet this year. In contrast, Tullamore’s younger players like Michael Brazil, John Moloney and Declan Hogan are all moving well. Boylesports lead the market at 13/10 and should get some interest at that level.

Recommendations

Leinster MFC: Louth to beat Kildare @ 9/2 (Boylesports)

Leinster SHC: Laois to beat Carlow @ 4/6 (Ladbrokes)

Galway SHC: Carnmore to beat Liam Mellows @ 11/8 (Powers)

Offaly SFC: Tullamore to beat Edenderry @ 13/10 (Boylesports)

Category: GAA

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As we discussed in our column earlier today, the provincial football championships all begin in earnest this weekend, with five teams poised to exit the race for their respective provincial titles on Sunday, barring draws. The Sunday Game cameras will travel to Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon to take in the meeting of the Rossies and Galway in the Connacht quarter final, however there are good betting opportunities all across Ireland, starting at Navan, where Westmeath look well poised to break a run of defeats against Louth.

Westmeath vs Louth

Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick probably wishes he could play Westmeath every week. In four games against the Lake County, he has guided Louth to four wins, three in the league and one in the 2010 Leinster championship.  Louth also won the last meeting between these two counties before Fitzpatrick took over – a 1-12 to 0-7 victory in the 2007 National League – but previously this was actually a fixture that Westmeath dominated, with seven wins in succession between 2001 and 2006. This column’s suspicion is that the tide could be turning back in Westmeath’s favour, after the Lazarus act that saved their place in Division 2.

Both sides are entitled to be very proud of their achievements in salvaging Division 2 status – both counties were odds on to make the drop – but Westmeath should be a little bit stronger on Sunday than they were in the league, while key absentees from the Louth team should leave them a weaker side than they were in the Spring. John Gaffey, Doran Harte and James Dolan are all selected to start on Sunday having spent most of the Spring playing football in the green and red of Garrycastle instead of the maroon colours of Westmeath, while Eoin O’Connor, Eamon McAuley and Shane Lennon all miss out due to injury on the Louth side.

As if that weren’t enough, Brian White, Brian Donnelly, James Califf and Cathal Bellew have all decided to emigrate to the US for the summer, while regular full back Dessie Finnegan will miss the game as he will be on his honeymoon. Needless to say not all of the eight players listed above would start, but if they were all available, they would possibly fill as many as four of the spinal positions on the team. Louth simply don’t have the depth to justify favouritism with so many gaps in central positions and so Westmeath represent great value.

Longford vs Laois

This is a fascinating game on so many levels. Longford are brimming with confidence, they will play in front of a home crowd, they play a wonderful fast, attacking brand of football and they are looking forward with enthusiasm to this Leinster campaign and in particular the chance to settle a score with Laois, after they came so close to beating them last year. Laois in contrast are riddled with self-doubt, struggling to find form and unsure of their identity. However while both these teams will play division 2 football in 2013, there were two divisions between them this year and this is still the same Laois team that beat both Armagh and Donegal and gave Dublin a tough contest.

For all the reasons listed above, Longford are a very “lovable” county at the moment. They’re the type of plucky underdog that neutrals love, but that can sometimes lead to fundamental flaws being overlooked. For example they are not strong ball winners at midfield, and the swashbuckling, attacking style of their forward division can sometimes leave the defence exposed. However Laois haven’t improved from Spring to Summer for a while now and they aren’t worthy of trust at odds on.

What we can believe in is the likelihood of a high scoring game, Longford’s very way of playing ensures it. Last year Laois played very defensive football but that didn’t really work out for them and Justin McNulty has reverted to a more attacking style this year. Boylesports have pitched their total points mark at 27.5 – on a good playing surface like Pearse Park and in front of a partisan home crowd, we’re confident that number will be surpassed.

Cavan vs Donegal

This is one of those predictions that more experienced GAA pundits don’t usually make, because it can come back to haunt you in the white heat of championship. However we’re going to go ahead and do it anyway, even if it does risk making us look foolish. Donegal should win this with plenty to spare.

Cavan should experience a certain bounce under Terry Hyland and they have some good young footballers to call upon, but they are a world away from where Donegal are in their preparations right now. One of these teams is an All Ireland contender, the other is a team that would be playing division 4 football in 2013 but for the fact that they miraculously found two teams worse than them this year in the third tier. Donegal’s defensive style is the only thing that has this handicap so low, and frankly if it were a six point handicap instead of a three, this columnist would still fancy Donegal to cover, that’s how bad Cavan are.

Limerick vs Waterford

Waterford haven’t beaten anyone other than Clare in the Munster football championship in nearly a quarter of a century.

We give that line a paragraph all to itself so we can allow the magnitude of that statement to sink in. No matter what issues Limerick may have had this year, they still should be better than Waterford, who continue to struggle. If this game were taking place in Fraher Field we might have some belief in the possibility of an upset, but even allowing for the somewhat uncharacteristically free scoring 1-18 to 1-14 win for Waterford when these two counties met in the league, we’d prefer to go for a lower stakes, higher return bet this week than backing the underdogs, who look to be up against it.

So we’re going to pick two players for a first goalscorer bet. First we’ll go with Mark Ferncombe, who scored four goals for Waterford in the league while no other player raised more than a single green flag, and we’re also going to side with Seamus O’Carroll for Limerick. The big full forward is one of the players who should relish the opportunity to go for balls dropping into the square and while he’s been praised highly for his achievements playing handball in recent weeks, he’s also a very accomplished footballer and one who will be a real threat to the Waterford goal this Sunday.

Roscommon vs Galway

If Roscommon manager Des Newton can go into championship battle without feeling the need to start a single member of an under-21 panel that reached the All Ireland final, then clearly he believes that either (a) Roscommon have serious strength in depth, or (b) the under-21′s weren’t that good after all. As with all things, it’s probably a little bit of both.

Galway football this year has given the impression of being very, very close to hitting the mark. Alan Mulholland has imposed a style and pattern to the county’s play and eliminated a lot of the individuality that plagued the Tribesmen in recent years. He now has a young, strong panel who are working hard for each other and if Michael Meehan is in fact close to making a return as is rumoured, then this could yet turn out to be a good summer for Galway. The problem is that they have always shown a genuine disinterest in the qualifiers and in order to avoid that minefield, they need to get out of Dr Hyde Park intact. This could prove tricky, and while this column remains of the view that there are parallels between Roscommon football and the emporor with no clothes, there’s nothing to be gained by punting the Galway at 8/15. Instead, we’ll again play the square ball rule change and side with another big full forward to net the first goal – in this case Paul Conroy of St James and Galway.

Match Betting Recommendations

Louth vs Westmeath: Westmeath to win @ 5/4 (Bet365, Skybet)

Longford vs Laois: Over 27.5 total points @ 5/6 (Boylesports)

Cavan vs Donegal: Donegal -3pts @ 5/6 (Boylesports, Bet365)

Limerick vs Waterford: Seamus O’Carroll @ 7/1 and Mark Ferncombe @ 8/1 to score the first goal. (Ladbrokes)

Roscommon vs Galway: Paul Conroy to score the first goal @ 7/1 (general)

Category: GAA

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Technically, the race for the All Ireland football championship got underway a fortnight ago in Gaelic Park in New York, but with all due respect to the Exiles, the real business starts this weekend, with action taking place in all four provinces. We’ll have a look at the matches later today, but here’s our antepost look at the four provincial championships and our recommendations, starting down south, where Waterford travel to Limerick with a real possibility of making a Munster Final for the first time in over half a century.

Munster SFC

Last year all four of the weaker counties in Munster faced one of the two traditional powers in their first game. No team got within ten points of Cork or Kerry, and the gap between the best and the rest seemed to be as wide as was ever the case. Nothing that has happened so far in 2012 suggested that things are about to change, as Tipperary regressed in their league campaign and the other three counties all failed to escape the basement division. The draw has been kind to Limerick, Clare and Waterford as one of those three will contest a Munster decider, but in the absence of an each way option, that’s really not much use to us. So it’s down to Cork or Kerry, and as usual there is little to call between the two.

This year the pair would be due to meet in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, they are odds against and the Rebel attack is moving a lot better for the return of some of their injured stars. On that basis, they get a tentative nod.

Connacht SFC

Out west, we know that Mayo will be in the final since there is no way they’ll slip up against either Leitrim or London. We know that 8/13 corresponds with a match price of 8/11, which would be reasonable enough if Galway got to the final and were in good scoring form – something which is very possible now that Michael Meehan is close to a full recovery. Nonetheless, Galway face two very dangerous banana skins en route, starting this weekend in Dr Hyde Park. On that basis, Mayo are great value because this 8/13 will look like a massive price if the Tribesmen slip up.

Of the outsiders, Sligo make marginally more appeal than Roscommon simply because they are available at 12/1 and have one less hurdle to cross, but the smart money is still best placed on Mayo.

Ulster SFC

Now the analysis starts to get complicated. What looked like a very handy draw for Down has got a little trickier now that Peter Canavan has made some progress at the helm of Fermanagh, while despite the absence of any real reason for this line of thought, we have a niggling feeling that there could be a kick in Antrim yet. However in a provincial championship littered with minefields, it’s still hard to pick out better value than James McCartan’s charges. Tyrone were flying during the league but Armagh’s performances in Division 1 were very decent as well and that was largely operating without their Crossmaglen players. Donegal should cruise past Cavan this week but they won’t have it easy against Derry in the next round, and neither will they have a huge tactical advantage on all other teams who will be much better prepared for their strategy. Even at best prices, it works out at 4/9 that the team from the good side of the draw wins the final. Out of those, only Armagh at 17/2 with Victor Chandler looks anyway attractive, and it’s very much the poor relation of the five recommended bets below.

Ultimately, Down are odds on to reach the Ulster final and if they get that far, they have the pedigree to put their best foot forward and cause teams problems. Certainly 11/2 outright is a decent price, thinking along the same lines as we did in Connacht. If Tyrone get there, those odds will prove correct. If Tyrone slip up, then this could work out aas a great value bet.

Leinster SFC

From a value betting point of view, this prediction could not be easier or more straightforward. Kildare are 3/1 with VCBet and they make massive appeal at that price. With Meath going so poorly right now, there is a case for saying that of the eleven teams in Leinster, Kildare and the four weakest counties make up one half of the draw. Meath supporters might disagree, but at what point do we start realising that there is a lot more to Meath’s difficulties than one man from Monaghan callen McEnaney? Their under-21 footballers were very poor, Joe Sheridan has missed a lot of time, they haven’t freshened up their team and the players know that the manager is hanging by a thread.

Wicklow’s division 4 title was a worthwhile achievement, much more meaningful than anything they did under Mick O’Dwyer with the possible exception of their Leinster championship win over Kildare, but the standard of football in that fixture was pedestrian in comparison to what Kildare will produce. Offaly are in utter, utter disarray and will be happy just to avoid damage limitation in the Leinster quarter final, while Carlow show no signs of improvement.

Of course Dublin have to be respected, but they have a much tougher route to the final, and even if they do get there, they are entitled to be considered favourites by a point or two, at most. One contentious decision split the teams in 2011 and anything other than 4/6 vs 6/4 would be incorrect betting in such a hypothetical final. Kildare at 3/1 are by far the best value provincial bet available right now.

Provincial Championships – Antepost Recommendations

Munster SFC: Cork @ 6/5 (Hills)

Connacht SFC: Mayo @ 8/13 (Powers, Stan James, Hills)

Ulster SFC: Armagh @ 17/2 (BetVictor), Down @ 11/2 (Boylesports)

Leinster SFC: Kildare @ 3/1 (BetVictor)

Category: GAA

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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)

Category: GAA

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Concluding our series of report cards, we now take a look at the second tier of the National Hurling League, featuring five teams with managers facing into their first championship at the helm of their current team. Indeed for four of the five bosses in question, it will be their first ever championship as an intercounty manager.

Clare – B

The Banner County deservedly topped the Division 1B class and yet again, David Fitzgerald is proving that a very astute hurling brain lies beneath his ferociously competitive and tempestuous exterior. Granted he’s got plenty of raw material to work with in Clare at the moment as some of the best young hurlers in Ireland are natives of the county, but they ticked every box over the course of the league. They produced a stunning display to blow Limerick out of the water in week one, they safely negotiated banana skin fixtures against Antrim and Laois, they hurled Wexford off the park without getting out of second gear, they beat Offaly in Tullamore with a reserve team and they came back from a large deficit in the 1B final against Limerick. It was disappointing that they failed to produce something different to unsettle Kilkenny a little in the league semi final, but generally things are moving well in Clare and they look like real Munster championship contenders right now, particularly with Tipperary struggling to find form.

Limerick – D

They huffed and puffed about dubious decisions in their drawn game against Offaly, but really they should have had the Faithful County long put away before then. They’ve made no real progress since last year and there are too many positions on the spine of their team still up for grabs, way more than should be the case with a manager in his second year. They have great potential and should be relishing the prospect of a Munster championship clash with Tipp, but too many of their new discoveries from last year seem to be suffering from a “sophomore slump” for that to be a realistic betting prospect at the moment.

Offaly – D

Offaly are comfortable hurling at division 1B level but will look back at all three of their games against decent opposition with some level of regret. They absolutely hurled Wexford off the park in round 2 of the campaign before inexplicably conceding three late goals and losing out by a point, they went out of the game for long spells against Limerick and still got a draw and had plenty of chances to beat Clare in Tullamore. Still, they actually have more depth in the panel than has been the case for a long time and with players like David Kenny and Rory Hanniffy fit, they actually have plenty of real leaders in the team. They will be better than they were in 2011, but time will tell how much better.

Wexford – E

We could try and paint a positive picture here, but there would be no justification for doing so. They deservedly lost to Antrim, they showed plenty of character but little hurling in their win over Offaly and nothing that we’ve seen so far suggests that Liam Dunne has a clear plan in terms of where he’s going with the team and what way he wants them to play. Winning a Leinster championship seems as far away as ever and while it’s now been twelve years since they lost to Offaly in the championship, that day looks to be closer than ever.

Antrim – B

Jerry Wallace should actually be really happy with how his side performed this Spring. Playing without the Loughgiel hurlers for the vast, vast majority of the campaign, they beat Wexford, put Offaly under real pressure in Tullamore and produced a great comeback when they needed it against Laois. They actually look to be in a good place in advance of this championship and could pull off a surprise somewhere this summer.

Laois – E

The optimism that pervaded Laois hurling in January has long since dissipated and Teddy McCarthy must be wondering what he has signed on for in trying to sort out the dysfunctional midlanders. They hurled well for small patches against Offaly and Wexford and for maybe half the game in Casement Park against Antrim, but they need to do a lot more. Right now they must be dreading their Leinster championship battle with Carlow, and rightly so.

Category: GAA

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Continuing our look at the club championships all across Ireland, next we stop into Kilkenny and Limerick. Kilkenny continue to proclaim publicly that they never want to wrap their players in cotton wool and that their club championships are sacrosanct, though as members of their panel continue to fill up the A & E ward of St Luke’s Hospital, Brian Cody will surely be hopeful that his players come through intact and that he stops haemorrhaging key hurlers.

Eight round robin fixtures also take place in Limerick, where Na Piarsaigh go in as defending Munster champions and they began their campaign tonight with a draw against city division rivals South Liberties. Elsewhere Kilmallock, Adare and Emmets will be among the sides expected to start with wins, though at least one of those sides could be in trouble.

Kilkenny SHC

The first upset of the weekend is already on the boards in Kilkenny after Fenians edged out Tullaroan earlier tonight. Next up is the meeting of St Martins and Danesfort and there should be plenty of support for the Fort here after their excellent performance against Ballyhale Shamrocks. St Martins are the more balanced team overall and should win, but even so, 5/2 from William Hill looks like a very good price about Danesfort who are very strong at half back and midfield. Not quite enough to justify a recommendation, but close enough.

Michael Fennelly’s injury is a huge blow to Ballyhale as well as to the county, but even so Dunnamaggin probably don’t have the firepower to strike a blow against the Shamrocks, certainly not at a best price of 3/1. If a more mid ranking team, like St Martins or possibly Erins Own, was the opposition this week then we might be a lot more interested in opposing Ballyhale, but not at this price.

Erin’s Own put in a great performance last week and deserve to be respected, but this week the bookies are over-reacting to their efforts. They have a great chance of beating Carrickshock who will still be without Richie Power, but they should not be odds on favourites by any stretch of the imagination. John Power is shaping up to be a very talented forward while the return of John Tennyson is a huge boost to the Shock’s chances also. Carrickshock face a tough battle here but they deserve the nod in a close call.

Limerick SHC

Early this week the value was easy to identify – Croom were offered at 8/11 by Paddy Powers, and that price was backed all the way into 1/3, and rightly so, based on preseason form. However three goals for Hospital/Herbertstown were enough to salvage a 1-12 to 3-6 draw and scupper a lot of punters.

However if that was a coupon buster, then South Liberties getting a draw with 1/12 shots Na Piarsaigh was a real stunner. Expect punters to tread warily for the rest of the week as a result.

Without question however, the most obviously vulnerable favourite is last year’s county semi-finalists Emmets, the South Limerick divisional side. Effin’s success in the Intermediate championship robs them of four key players while the general view is that they’re not likely to be quite as motivated in the early stages, at least until the prospect of a real run at the county championship starts to present itself. Bruree, opponents this week, don’t have the same long term potential but they are a hard working unified club who will take advantage of any lack of cohesiveness in the divisional team. At the odds of 5/2 on offer from Paddy Powers, they are a very attractive proposition.

For one final outsider, take Ahane to edge out Murroe Boher at 7/4 with Powers. Ahane’s run to the county final last year was widely regarded as a very fortunate series of events, but Ahane have got the know-how to win games and that’s a valuable attribute. Ollie Moran’s retirement robs them of a natural leader but our suspicion here at Starbets is that there is still some value in that price of 7/4.

Kilkenny SHC, Limerick SHC Recommendations

Carrickshock vs Erins Own: Carrickshock @ 11/10 (general)

Emmets vs Bruree: Bruree @ 5/2 (Ladbrokes)

Murroe-Boher vs Ahane: Ahane @ 7/4 (Powers)

Category: GAA

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It’s that time of year when counties all across Ireland try to wedge in rounds of club championship action, only to leave poor club players back in storage for another two or three months. Fixture issues aside, here’s our first look at this weekend’s games, starting with this writer’s home county.

Offaly SHC

Leinster champions Coolderry open proceedings tonight against Kilcormac/Killoughey and like all teams who had their 2011 season extended into March 2012, they haven’t done a lot of preparation for this year’s campaign as yet. They’ll be under no illusion regarding the scale of the threat posed by Kilcormac/Killoughey either and will know that an upset is possible – but at odds of 2/1, there is no value in speculating on such an outcome, at least not in the absence of the Grogans who are reputed to be missing due to injury.

Instead, for an upset, take Belmont at 6/1 to knock Birr. Normally Belmont would be out of their depth against this calibre of opponent, but Birr are down a lot of players this week with Dylan Hayden and Michael Verney unlikely to feature and Gary Hanniffy and Neil Rogers out of the country. At Ladbrokes’ price of 9/2 we’d be hesitant, but 6/1 is just about enough to warrant a speculative bet. Birr no longer score as freely as they used to and Belmont are capable of getting goals through the pace of Alan Egan and the physical presence of Colin Egan. A scoreline like 2-12 to 0-16 will be the aim here.

Also on Sunday evening in Lusmagh supporters will take in the local derby between Kinnitty and Seir Keiran. Joe Bergin is the star attraction here and he is a truly prolific performer in the Offaly club championship, while the presence of Seir Kieran in the county under-21 semi final a fortnight ago was another great achievement for a parish with such a small population. However they are too dependent on their young players and while Kinnitty had a bad year in 2011, they’ve bounced back well this Spring and could be good value at 5/4 in a fixture that normally goes their way.

Galway SHC

It’s remarkable that there has been money for Ardrahan to knock out Portumna this week, though admittedly it doesn’t take much betting to move a match price from 16/1 to 8/1. Still, all is clearly not well with the former All Ireland champions since not long ago you’d have struggled to get backers for Ardrahan at 66/1 in a game like that. Still, the gulf in class is too much for our tastes, regardless of the Andy Smith suspension.

Our view here at Starbets is that the much better value selection is Mullagh, at the crazy, crazy odds of 7/2 with Betpack/Stan James. We were all set to tip this one up at 7/4 with Powers before those Betpackers came in with this ludicrous price – admittedly one that will not last. These two sides drew in last year’s quarter final, before Clarinbridge won the replay, games for which odds of 4/6 and 8/13 about Clarinbridge were available. This year Clarinbridge lost by 0-21 to 1-15 against Beagh and frankly should have lost by more but for some silly fouling by the Beagh backs that allowed Mark Kerins to keep the scoreboard ticking over from placed balls. Mullagh on the other hand were edged out by Craughwell, 1-10 to 0-12. It’s notable that Craughwell, 2011 semi finalists, are widely regarded to be a better team than Beagh, albeit not by that much (16/1 outright chances in local bookies, Beagh generally 25/1). If somebody put a gun to our heads and forced us to pick a winner here, we’d find it tough but we’d possibly lean towards Mullagh on a split decision. At odds of 7/2, there is no hesitation in declaring this the best bet of the weekend and one of the best of the year so far.

Waterford SHC

A lot of games here should be easy to call, but the odds reflect that. A treble on Ballygunner, Mount Sion and Tallow pays out roughly 8/11 with most books and while that’s not a big price for calling three results, it’s very hard to visualise any outcome other than three from three. Ballygunner might find the going toughest against Dungarvan, since the seaside club lost nothing in defeat to Lismore last week and Ballygunner won’t always find it that easy to compensate for the absence of Paraic Mahony, but while we think Dungarvan will win at games this year, it probably won’t happen this week.

So instead of going for the short priced teams, we’re instead going to look at a single bet here and take Abbeyside to beat Passage.

Abbeyside showed great defensive strength and battling qualities against the Gunners last week and if Richie Foley’s penalty had been converted, they may even have sneaked an unlikely result. Passage also did well, picking up two points they didn’t expect against Ballyduff Upper, but Eoin Kelly’s inconsistency is very representative of the hit and miss nature of Passage hurling. They might find it harder to motivate themselves for a game that many members of the public will feel they should win – and Abbeyside proved that they are improving and capable of taking advantage of any slip up.

Offaly, Galway & Waterford SHC Recommendations

Birr vs Belmont:Belmont to win @ 6/1 (Powers)

Seir Kieran vs Kinnitty: Kinnitty to win @ 5/4 (Powers)

Clarinbridge vs Mullagh: Mullagh to win at 7/2 (Betpack/Stan James)

Abbeyside vs Passage: Abbeyside to win @ 6/5 (Boylesports, Ladbrokes)

Category: GAA

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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.

Category: GAA

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It’s not just the intercounty players of Kilkenny and Cork who are in action this weekend as there is also club hurling taking place in Waterford, Wexford, West Tipperary, Galway and Carlow. With all due respect to the hurlers of Carlow and West Tipperary, there aren’t too many neutral observers who’ll be keeping a close eye on those games, while out in Galway, the replay between Kiltormer and Castlegar is almost certain to be another closely fought battle – so there is no point even pretending that there is any value in either team at even money or shorter. So we will begin our previews in Waterford, where the action got underway last night.

Waterford SHC

De la Salle burst out of the blocks with a nine point win over Mount Sion last night and if there is to be a challenger to the big two of De la Salle and Ballygunner, it’s unlikely to be Mount Sion based on this showing. The absence of many meaningful league games in Waterford makes it tough to ascertain how teams are going and the fact that De la Salle hadn’t played a domestic fixture since losing to Passage by a point last month says a lot. Passage however proved that maybe there was something to that match as they secured an upset victory over Ballyduff Upper in the other fixture.

Short priced favourites are all the rage in Waterford this week and in three of the remaining four fixtures, an upset is hard to imagine. Fourmilewater have made good progress under Fintan O’Connor and while on one hand their match odds of 1/8 seem very short about a club that has struggled to make the breakthrough against good teams, on the other they just have much more by way of quality than Roanmore here and really should win well.

Similarly Ballygunner would be expected to cruise through their fixture against Abbeyside, all the more now that Gary Hurney is unavailable for selection for the outsiders. The Gunners have been a dominant force at underage level for years and many of those medallists should now be coming into their own. Expect Ballygunner to win this by as much as they like.

The meeting of Tallow and Dunhill is the hardest to call simply because Tallow overachieved in 2011, while Dunhill are completely new to senior hurling and thus no-one knows how they will manage at this level. Realistically, Tallow should win but they’re not the kind of team we like to trust at odds of 1/3 or shorter.

Which leaves us with Dungarvan vs Lismore, and here an upset is definitely possible. Lismore are a very talented group but they’ve struggled to deliver on their undoubted potential and against a club like Dungarvan that has made very slow and steady progress in recent seasons, they are hugely vulnerable. Maurice Shanahan always scores well in Fraher Field, but the rumour that Waterford minor keeper Seán Barry is set to be dropped because he refused to line out for his club in a challenge game five days before playing Munster minor championship with Waterford illustrates how dysfunctional the Lismore club can be. Boylesports are 10/3 Dungarvan here and that’s by far the best bet of the week in this championship.

Wexford SHC

St Martins’ battle with Oulart always looked like an uphill struggle for the Piercestown club, but the news that Tomás Waters is out essentially rules out any chance of an upset here. Elsewhere in the county St Annes are nailed on certainties against Adamstown, Rapparees and Buffers Alley are worthy favourites against Cloughbawn and Faythe Harriers respectively, while there should be little to call between Ferns and Shelmaliers. However our main interest is the game between Rathnure and Glynn Barntown.

Last year these two sides met at the quarter final stage of the competition and after a competetive first half, Rathnure stepped on the gas for the second thirty minutes and blew Glynn Barntown out of the water, eventually winning by over twenty points having led by just two early in the second half. You’d imagine that turning around a result like that would be all but impossible, but it’s notable that the money has been for Glynn Barntown this week and Paddy Powers now trade 2/1, having opened at 3/1 and gone through 11/4 and 9/4. Paddy Whitley and Willie Cleary are not available for Rathnure, while a very young Glynn Barntown team is a year older and a year wiser. They won’t lack for motivation this year after last year’s result, while complacency will be a very hard opponent to quell in the Rathnure dressing room. On the basis that they are hugely dependent on Jack Guiney, who still has a lot to learn, and of course the price, we’ll take the 12/5 from Ladbrokes about a Glynn Barntown win here, but only to very small stakes.

Club Hurling Recommendations

Waterford SHC: Dungarvan to beat Lismore @ 10/3 (Boylesports)

Wexford SHC: Glynn Barntown to beat Rathnure @ 12/5 (Ladbrokes)

Category: GAA

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

All Ireland U21 Football Final

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

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

Cork SFC

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

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

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

Weekend Football Recommendations

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

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

Category: GAA

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