Hurling Rankings

ALL-IRELAND FINAL

KILKENNY (1) -v- GALWAY (3)

Kilkenny as expected made their way back to the final, their 14th final appearance in 18 seasons going back to their 1998 defeat to Offaly. Far too good for Wexford, they always seemed in control against stiffer tests from Galway and Waterford, one really does get the sense that once again they have saved their best for the final.

Galway have had a long journey to the final, and along the way they have ended the seasons of two of the traditional big three, an emphatic win over Cork was followed by the semi final meeting with Tipperary in which they rode their luck somewhat, despite being the better team their failure to deal with Seamus Callanan almost cost them a game that on balance they should have won far more comfortably.

They have the firepower to bury most and live with anybody, but those Tipp goals will have given Kilkenny food for thought, and although they don't necessarily have a like for like Callanan in their ranks, they do know a thing or two about exposing obvious opposition weaknesses. Having said that, the Galway full back line didn't appear to be a major factor in the Leinster final clash between the two.

Predicted result based on ratings gap; Kilkenny by 3

Kilkenny won the Leinster final by 7 and they have beaten their predicted result by an average of 6 points in their three games so far, but Galway have beaten their predicted results by 7.83 points on average. (10 if you exclude the Leinster final). As much as I'd love to see Galway win, I just couldn't back against Kilkenny.

PREVIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2006: Kilkenny 2-22; Galway 3-14. (Semple Stadium, Thurles)
2007: Kilkenny 3-22; Galway 1-18. (Croke Park, Dublin)
2009: Kilkenny 2-20; Galway 3-13. (O'Connor Park, Tullamore)
2010: Kilkenny 1-19; Galway 1-12. (Croke Park, Dublin)
2012: Galway 2-21; Kilkenny 2-11. (Croke Park, Dublin)
2012: Kilkenny 0-19; Galway 2-13. (Croke Park, Dublin)
2012: Kilkenny 3-22; Galway 3-11. (Croke Park, Dublin)
2014: Kilkenny 3-22; Galway 5-16. (O'Connor Park, Tullamore)
2014: Kilkenny 3-19; Galway 1-17. (O'Connor Park, Tullamore)
2015: Kilkenny 1-25; Galway 2-15. (Croke Park, Dublin)


40 meetings, 29 Kilkenny wins, 9 Galway wins, 2 draws. The last 10 have all occurred under Brian Cody's time in charge of Kilkenny, and makes for relatively comfortable reading for Kilkenny. However they have met an additional 4 times in the Cody era, Kilkenny taking wins in 2000 and 2004 while Galway defeated Kilkenny in 2001 and 2005. Although Cody has defeated Galway 9 times, Galway have defeated his teams three times and taken him to replays twice.

Also; count the goals, I believe that's 43 goals in the last 10 games. The 2005 game was that epic 9 goal thriller won by Galway.

Charlie69 wrote: »

It will actually be Kilkenny's 15th All Ireland final appearance since 1998.

I intended to talk in terms of Cody's Kilkenny and changed my mind mid-typing! But yes, 15th appearance since 1998. For Cody it's 14 out of 17, which is mind-blowing really.

The reason I don't really get fed up of Cody and Kilkenny is I don't believe we will ever see anything like it again in hurling.

Position|previous|change|Team|Points
1st |(1)|=|KILKENNY|9093
2nd |(2)|=|TIPPERARY|8845
3rd |(3)|=|GALWAY|8592
4th |(4)|=|WATERFORD|8592
5th |(5)|=|CORK|8337
6th |(6)|=|DUBLIN|8306
7th |(7)|=|LIMERICK|8035
8th |(8)|=|CLARE|8034
9th |(9)|=|WEXFORD|7719
10th |(10)|=|OFFALY|7377
11th |(11)|=|LAOIS|7185
12th |(12)|=|KERRY|6844
13th |(13)|=|WESTMEATH|6622
14th |(14)|=|ANTRIM|6530
15th |(15)|=|CARLOW|6468
16th |(16)|=|KILDARE|6096
17th |(17)|=|DOWN|6010
18th |(18)|=|DERRY|5838
19th |(19)|=|LONDON|5741
20th |(20)|=|MEATH|5634
21st |(21)|=|WICKLOW|5524
22nd |(22)|=|ROSCOMMON|5029
23rd |(23)|=|ARMAGH|5011
24th |(24)|=|MAYO|4730
25th |(25)|=|DONEGAL|4622
26th |(26)|=|TYRONE|4480
27th |(27)|=|FINGAL|4104
28th |(28)|=|MONAGHAN|3807
29th |(29)|=|FERMANAGH|3560
30th |(30)|=|LONGFORD|3489
31st |(31)|=|LOUTH|3259
32nd |(32)|=|WARWICKSHIRE|3108
33rd |(33)|=|SLIGO|3022
34th |(34)|=|LEITRIM|2705
35th |(35)|=|LANCASHIRE|2653


Kilkenny on top once again, Galway finish in third losing enough points to bring Waterford up to joint third.

Why are they below Tipperary? Well they did lose two of their last four games while Tipp lost one of their last three. Tipperary had a much higher rating at the start of the year and had a moderately better league campaign.

Since 1991, the All-Ireland champion has ended the season as the number 1 team in all bar two seasons.

The last time was in 2013, when Clare couldn't quite bridge the gap to Kilkenny, Kilkenny had won the previous two All-Ireland championships and league titles. Clare on the other hand had a terrible 2010 and 2011, won 1B of the league in 2012 before a mediocre championship, in 2013 they only avoided relegation after a play off. Needless to say, Kilkenny started the 2013 championship with a lot more cash in the bank in terms of ratings points and held on to top spot. Incidentally, Clare would gain top spot for a week following defeat of Kilkenny in the 2014 National hurling league but since then they have gradually fallen to 8th.

1998 was the other year. Like Clare in 2013, Offaly's efforts only brought them to 2nd place. But who finished top?
Was it Cork following their NHL success that spring and subsequent win away to Limerick in the Munster championship? No.
Was it Waterford following their run to the NHL and Munster final and quarter final win over Galway? No.
Was it Clare who had won the 1995 and 1997 All-Ireland titles combined with the 1997 and 1998 Munster champiopnships? No.
Maybe Kilkenny who were in the process of emerging from their mid 90's slumber to take the Leinster championship with a huge win over Offaly? No.

It was none other than; Limerick.

How on earth did that happen?? Their year ended in May when Cork came to the Gaelic Grounds and won on a scoreline of 1-20 to 3-11 and were nothing but a distant memory by the time the All-Ireland final was played that September.



Here's how it happened;

• The 1997 NHL campaign actually ran in tandem with the 1997 championship, so despite exiting the 1997 championship with a whimper away to Tipp, Limerick came back and won the league.
• Limerick gained so many points that the only reason Clare finished in 1st was due to the championship games being weighted in the calculations.
• The 1998 league was played in spring, and Limerick launched a strong defence of that title winning all 5 of their group games, only to suffer defeat at the hands of Waterford.
• You can see that by the end of April, Limerick as the standout team had built up a large lead of over 400 points.
• Limerick were brought crashing back down to earth in May, shipping a big defeat to Waterford in the NHL semi final and ending the month with defeat in the Munster championship to Cork leaving them with 458 points less than they started the month with, bringing them right back down into the middle of Clare, Wexford, Cork and Galway.
• However, look how far back Offaly are, in terms of the rankings system the norm for Offaly in the 90's was terrible league campaigns followed by strong championship performances.
• An unusual and wide open championship then followed. And it appeared that 1st place came as a curse in 1998.
• Cork took top spot after following up their league success by defeating Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds. However they then lost their next game with a heavy defeat to Clare, bringing them back just below Limerick.
• Clare took top spot from Cork, and held it for a little longer but a tumultuous summer lay ahead for Clare, they were taken to a replay by Waterford, and beaten by Offaly at the third attempt, as Offaly were ranked lower this took a serious chunk out of their points, not only putting them behind Limerick, but back behind the Cork team they had comprehensively defeated earlier.
• This moved Kilkenny into top spot. Offaly had gained ground in Leinster following their victory over Wexford but were defeated in the final by Kilkenny, this gave Kilkenny enough points to move above Limerick and fill the top spot vacated by Clare.
• And finally, despite being heavy favourites, Kilkenny were defeated by Offaly in the final, which moved them back behind Limerick, and moved Offaly tantalisingly close to Limerick, just 16 points shy, a bonus point victory would have seen them move ahead.
• Ultimately, a poor league campaign combined with defeat in the Leinster final conspired to deprive Offaly of top spot.

So there you have it, a wide open championship littered with lower ranked teams defeating higher ranked teams meant that a handful of 5 or 6 teams who were better than Limerick cancelled each other out to the extent that not one of them was able to topple Limerick's points total which was built on the back of a run of 9 successive victories in league hurling after their 1997 championship exit.

Division 2 of the 1968-69 hurling league consisted of 10 teams, nine teams divided into three groups of three teams bases on geographical proximity. 2A contained Mayo, Westmeath and Roscommon. 2B contained Meath, Down and Antrim. And 2C contained Wicklow, Carlow and Kildare. Each team would play each other twice and the winner of each group advancing to the semi finals. What about the 10th team? Kerry, much like Galway in the All-Ireland series until the introduction of the backdoor, got a bye straight to the semi finals.

Kildare would come from relative obscurity by their standards and have themselves a flawless league campaign, they started with a 5 point win at home to Wicklow, then a very impressive 13 point win away to Carlow (who in the 1960's had been somewhat of a dark horse registering championship victories over Offaly and Laois <twice> in that decade), and followed that by smashing Carlow at home by 23 points before concluding the group stage with a 100% record with victory over Wicklow. In the knockout phase they completely dominated, registering big victories over Down and Westmeath.

Although a division 2 title may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of hurling history, it set in motion Kildare's own little golden era, where they spent the next decade holding their own with counties they traditionally were a million miles away from.

They finished 1969 in 13th place, they had not been entered into that season's championship and the 'B' championship would not come into existence until 1974. Their reward for a successful 1969 was a place in the Leinster championship. However, such was the structure of the league at the time, they were not entitled to promotion.

1970 Kildare once again looked set to conquer all in the league, making their way back to the final seemingly at their ease before suffering defeat to Antrim in the final on a scoreline of 2-13 to 3-8. However they finished the league with 12th place in the rankings. Their first appearance in the Leinster championship since 1945 resulted in a credible 1 point defeat to Laois, which saw them fall to 14th in the final 1970 rankings.

1971 The league was reformed for the 70-71 campaign with a format similar to the present structure, except with 7 or 8 teams in 1A and 1B instead of 6. Kildare had a difficult opener away to Clare, and lost by 8 points in Ennis. However, they followed that up with a sensational victory at Waterford on a scoreline of 5-11 to 4-7. This was followed by a 7 point victory over Laois and a 14 point mauling of Kerry in Tralee. Additional victories over Antrim and Westmeath meant Kildare finished 2nd behind Clare, earning them a quarter final berth with Tipperary. They were actually level with the Premier county at half time but went on to lose by 5-16 to 3-10.
They entered the championship with a ranking of 11th, but suffered a disappointing and surprising defeat to Westmeath in the Leinster championship seeing them finish the season in 12th.

1972 An opening day defeat to a big gun (this time Galway) was again followed by a big victory over Waterford by 7 points. However subsequent defeats to Laois and Wicklow put an end to their hopes of making the knockout phase for a second year running. Victories came against Kerry and Westmeath, while a further defeat was inflicted by Antrim. They entered the championship in 13th place, but once again they were defeated by Westmeath in Leinster leaving them down to 14th, and Kildare seemingly at risk of slipping back into obscurity.


1973 Started the league with a 10 point victory over Dublin but Waterford ensured there would be no three in a row of Kildare victories over Waterford with a 14 point victory in Cappoquin. Laois held the lily-whites to a draw, this was followed by victories over Wicklow and Kerry. Defeat to Antrim by 1 point jeopardised their qualification hopes but victory over championship bogey team Westmeath gave Kildare a second placed finish and a quarter final place against Tipperary. A heavy defeat was to follow and they entered the championship in 13th place. They faced Offaly in the Leinster championship only to be defeated by 9 points, finishing the year in 14th place.

1974 Dublin started by avenging Kildare's victory the year before but what followed was most impressive by Kildare. Victories over Offaly and Laois were followed by an 18 point thrashing of Wicklow, a 14 point hammering of Antrim in Ballycastle, and a 39 point destruction of Westmeath. Qualification to the knockout stages easily sealed, once again they faced Tipperary, and once again they were defeated. However a 2-16 to 2-10 scoreline more than respectable. They entered the championship at number 11, however they would not be in Leinster, they were now a part of the newly formed 'B' Championship. Unsurprisingly, they won with victories over Kerry, Meath, Westmeath and Antrim along the way. Their reward for winning the B Championship was an All-Ireland quarter final place against Galway, where they were defeated on a scoreline of 3-19 to 4-10. Final position; 11th.

1975 A condensed 1B in the 1974-75 NHL saw Kildare start the campaign with a three point defeat to Galway before registering wins over Laois, Offaly, Wicklow and Antrim. Second place again earning them a quarter final place against, you've guessed it; Tipperary. Defeat this time on a scoreline of 1-13 to 1-6. But, Kildare end the campaign in 10th, a measure of the consistency they achieved in the 1970's. They were back in the Leinster championship, came agonisingly close to getting that win holding Offaly to a draw before losing by a goal and three points in the replay. Final position; 12th.

1976 A disappointing start with a 10 point defeat at home to Waterford was followed by victory over Laois. Westmeath and Antrim were easily dispatched before defeat at Limerick left them with a 3rd place finish and 11th place in the rankings. An unremarkable league campaign gave no indication as to what was to come; Leinster Championship quarter final; Dublin 1-10, Kildare 3-10. A long time coming but finally the big championship win. A commendable semi final performance followed against Wexford losing on a scoreline of 2-19 to 2-15. Wexford went on to defeat Kilkenny by 17 points in the Leinster final. They finished 1976 in 9th.

1977 Their league campaign started with a disappointing 3 point defeat at home to Offaly. Victory at Antrim was followed by a 2 point defeat at home to Galway. Promotion and play off hopes once again over, they once again pulled a remarkable victory out of the bag, going to Dungarven and defeating Waterford for the third time on a scoreline of 2-13 to 2-8. Victories over Laois and Wicklow concluded their campaign, leaving them entering the championship in 10th. The championship finally saw them earn a victory over Westmeath who had beaten them twice earlier in the decade. They went on to suffer a heavy defeat to Wexford in the Leinster semi final but finished the year in 10th place.


Hereafter, Kildare went into a slow decline back to the the level they had been before and are now. A team hovering between 9th and 14th may not seem so remarkable and you may be wondering why I am focusing on them, but they spent the best part of a decade punching above their weight, they reached the quarter finals of the league on numerous occasions, were very consistent in the league and pulled off a few major victories along the way over Waterford, Offaly, Dublin and Laois.

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Better this is getting,did our lads ever break the top 10 like Kildare did?

They finished the 1967, 1968 and 1969 leagues in 11th place. They comfortably won division 2 of the league in 1967 and 1968 but there was no promotion at the time so they were unable to test themselves against better opposition and potentially break into the top 10.

They didn't participate in Munster either at this time, and given how poor Galway were at the time they might have picked up a win or two against them as they were in Munster for the 60's.

They 1969 league format was a bit unfair on Kerry, straight into the semi finals, one defeat. Year over as no championship game. Just one game all year. Had they been in Munster in the 1960's and had there been promotion/relegation in place they may have been able to better themselves.

Record of teams in All-Ireland series since introduction of qualifiers (2002-2015)

Team(s)|Played|Won|Drawn|Lost|Win %|AI Champions
Leinster Champion|30|23|2|5|7.76%|9
Munster Runner-Up|21|9|1|11|42.9%|0*
All-Ireland Qualifier|68|28|6|34|41.2%|3*
Leinster Runner-Up|18|7|1|10|38.9%|1
Munster Champion|22|9|2|13|37.5%|1
Ulster Champion|3|0|0|3|0%|0


I posted this two years ago, since then the Munster champion has fallen from 4th to 5th in this list.

However, two factors will skew this data, I think it's fair to say that Kilkenny are the exception to most rules so I will create a separate row for Kilkenny, all other eligible rows will have Kilkenny's results excluded. Also, with respect to the Ulster championship, I feel their inclusion at the quarter final stage in 2002,03 and 04 handed qualifier teams relatively easy games, so I'll exclude those three games altogether.


Team(s)|Played|Won|Drawn|Lost|Win %|AI Champions
Kilkenny|34|27|3|4|79.4%|10
Munster Runner-Up|21|9|1|11|42.9%|0*
All-Ireland Qualifier|60|23|5|32|38.3%|3*
Munster Champion|22|9|2|13|37.5%|1
Leinster Runner-Up|14|4|0|10|28.6%|0
Leinster Champion|5|1|1|3|20%|0


Ok, so no great surprises here. The removal of Kilkenny from Leinster Champion, runner-up and All-Ireland qualifier rows has a significant impact on the Leinster Champion figures, so much so as to pretty much render the Leinster champion stats completely meaningless, as 5 games is far too few to make any conclusions on.

For those of you fond of a bit of trivia; since Galway's victory over Tipperary in the 2012 All-Ireland semi final, what year was the last time a Leinster champion, that wasn't Kilkenny, won a game in the All-Ireland series? (And what team?)

Finally, with Kilkenny being the exception to the rule, let's have a look at the table when Kilkenny's results are completely excluded. What I'm hoping to see is that there is a relatively even win rate for each team regardless of their path to the All-Ireland series be that as a qualifier, a provincial champion or a runner up.


Team(s)|Played|Won|Drawn|Lost|Win %|AI Champions
Munster Runner-Up|14|8|1|5|57.1%|0*
Munster Champion|18|9|2|7|50%|1
All-Ireland Qualifier|43|20|3|20|46.5%|3*
Leinster Runner-Up|12|4|0|8|33.3%|0
Leinster Champion|3|1|0|2|33.3%|0


Does this tell us anything? No great secret that the biggest deterrent to success is meeting Kilkenny so obviously there is an overall improvement in figures. The Leinster champion/runner-up figures go up slightly but are not at the same level as qualifiers and Munster champion/runners up. However it is widely accepted that since 2002, Kilkenny aside, Munster is far stronger than Leinster.

But I find it interesting that there isn't a significant difference in the win rate of Munster champions, runners up and qualifiers. And to me that points to a fair and equitable championship structure. The poor record of the Munster champion is well documented, particularly in seasons when they advance directly to the semi final stage with a long 5/6 week wait.

But, of the 13 defeats suffered by the Munster champion since 2002, 6 (almost half) have been inflicted by Kilkenny. Which adds a bit of context to their seemingly poor record. So maybe the format is just fine.

However, it has to be said, the relatively awful semi-final performances by the Munster champion in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 is concerning. On the one hand, it would suggest that the long wait kills off their momentum. But on the other hand, that can be dismissed by the fact Kilkenny have managed that wait just fine. But, as I've said, Kilkenny are the exception to the rule, so it really is difficult to say one way or the other.

Two weekends to go.

Division 1A

TIPPERARY (2) -v- (6) DUBLIN (Prediction; TIP by 8)
GALWAY (3) -v- (5) CORK (Prediction; GAL by 5)
WATERFORD (4) -v- (1) KILKENNY (Prediction; KLK by 2)

Not much point in commenting in any great detail on individual games as pre season competitions are no great indicator of form. Managerial changes at three counties, stability at both Waterford and Kilkenny which will be live on TG4. Tipp v Dublin available to Setanta viewers.


Division 1B

LIMERICK (7) -v- (9) WEXFORD (Prediction; LIM by 6)
CLARE (8) -v- (10) OFFALY (Prediction; CLA by 10)
LAOIS (11) -v- (12) KERRY (Prediction; LAO by 6)

If you want promotion from 1B, realistically you need to come through all 5 games undefeated with 9 or 10 points so straight away Limerick v Wexford (will be on Setanta) could rule one of the contenders out of the promotion race at the first hurdle. Clare should be comfortable in their game and if Kerry want to extend their stay in 1B their clash with Laois is probably a game they have been targeting, though anything other than a Laois would be a big surprise.


Division 2A

DERRY (18) -v- (14) ANTRIM (Prediction; ANT by 4)
KILDARE (16) -v- (15) CARLOW (Prediction; CAR by 1)
LONDON (19) -v- (13) WESTMEATH (Prediction; WES by 6)

The long road back to the top tiers now begins for Antrim but they won't have it easy, Westmeath destroyed them in the championship meeting between the two last year, and Derry had a strong Ring cup campaign while Carlow will also be in the mix. This should be a competitive division.


Division 2B

ARMAGH (23) -v- (17) DOWN (Prediction; DOW by 7)
MAYO (24) -v- (25) DONEGAL (Prediction; MAY by 4)
WICKLOW (21) -v- (20) MEATH (Prediction; WIC by 2)

I suspect Down will be the team to beat in this division but if Meath can win a tricky first game away to Wicklow then they will most likely set up a last day round 5 winner takes it all clash with the Mourne men.


Division 3A

FINGAL (27) -v- (32) WARWICKSHIRE (Prediction; DOW by 13)
LOUTH (31) -v- (22) ROSCOMMON (Prediction; ROS by 15)
MONAGHAN (28) -v- (26) TYRONE (Prediction; TYR by 4)

Roscommon will be huge favourites for this division, they should register 5 big wins, 3A hurling hardly ideal preparation for the Christy Ring Cup.

Can't post a full table because for some reason boards keeps insisting the post is too short and won't let me submit it (massive pain in the backside after all the formatting required to post a table)


However, no change in the top 10, four changes further down the table, but biggest change is Kerry have now moved into the top 11 as their excellent win in Portlaoise sees the two teams swap places!

I might try and post a screengrab of the updated table in my Excel file later tonight, sorry I can't post the table, it takes a bit of time and I've already attempted to do so twice only for boards to pretend I am trying to submit an empty message

Hammer Archer wrote: »

You don't by any chance have the table in between

tags do you?
If not, then maybe post it as a bug report in the Site Development forum (I think that's what the forum is for)
If you want to PM me the text of your table, I can try it.

Thanks man, I'll try again later tonight from my other laptop, if it doesn't work then I'll send you a PM with the text!

Division 1A

CORK (5) -v- (4) WATERFORD (Prediction; WAT by 1) (Setanta Ireland, Sat night)
DUBLIN (6) -v- (3) GALWAY (Prediction; GAL by 1) (Setanta 1, Sat night)
KILKENNY (1) -v- (2) TIPPERARY (Prediction; KLK by 3) (TG4, Sunday)

Pressure on the three home teams this weekend, particularly Cork and Dublin both of whom will only have one more home game. They also welcome higher ranked opposition in better form, will the top 4 pull even further clear of the chasing pack?


Division 1B

KERRY (11) -v- (7) LIMERICK (Prediction; LIM by 8)
OFFALY (10) -v- (12) LAOIS (Prediction; OFY by 7)
WEXFORD (9) -v- (8) CLARE (Prediction; CLA by 1) (TG4, deferred, Sunday)

Kerry are seeking to win their 10th competitive game in a row, but Limerick should prevail here. The defeated team in the Offaly Laois game most likely faces a relegation play off while Clare return to the scene of their All-Ireland dethroning in 2014. Wexford probably out of the promotion race, not because they lost, but because the magnitude of that defeat leaves them well behind Limerick and Clare on points difference.


Division 2A

CARLOW (15) -v- (20) LONDON (Prediction; CAR by 12)
ANTRIM (14) -v- (17) KILDARE (Prediction; ANT by 9)
WESTMEATH (13) -v- (18) DERRY (Prediction; WES by 12)

All I'll say is if you're fond of an accumulator you'd be fairly safe in backing three home wins here. Anything else would be a major surprise.


Division 2B

DONEGAL (25) -v- (23) ARMAGH (Prediction; ARM by 1)
DOWN (16) -v- (22) WICKLOW (Prediction; DOW by 9)
MEATH (19) -v- (24) MAYO (Prediction; MEA by 13)

Down and Meath should make it two wins from two apiece, Donegal will look to get one over on their Ulster rivals, Armagh would traditionally have the upper hand between these two but they victory here would provide them with their best chance of avoiding relegation, they won't be favourites but it is well within their reach.


Division 3A

ROSCOMMON (22) -v- (28) MONAGHAN (Prediction; ROS by 16)
TYRONE (26) -v- (27) FINGAL (Prediction; TYR by 7)
WARWICKSHIRE (32) -v- (31) LOUTH (Prediction; WAR by 1)

If Warwickshire are to stave off relegation this game presents them their best opportunity. Home advantage gives them an edge in ranking points but last weekends games would indicate Louth are in superior form. Roscommon should win comfortably against Monaghan but they weren't entirely convincing against Louth, they'll win but maybe not by as big a margin as the ranking points suggest. Tyrone v Fingal could serve as a promotion eliminator. Tryone ranked better, and have home advantage, but Fingal made a very strong start yesterday.

Division 1A

Dublin (5) -v- (6) Cork (Prediction; DUB by 5)
Kilkenny (1) -v- (4) Galway (Prediction; KLK by 7)
Tipperary (2) -v- (3) Waterford (Prediction; TIP by 4)

A must win for Cork as defeat leaves them having to defeat probably both of Tipperary and Kilkenny to avoid relegation, Dublin won well last time out but they and Galway both suffer terribly from inconsistency. Kilkenny back to winning ways should come away with the points against Galway and despite what the rankings say I would back Waterford to make it 10 wins in a row for them in the league.


Division 1B

Laois (12) -v- (7) Clare (Prediction; CLA by 10)
Kerry (11) -v- (9) Wexford (Prediction; WEX by 3)
Offaly (10) -v- (8) Limerick (Prediction; LIM by 7)

Clare were lucky to come away from Portlaoise in the quarter final of this competition in 2014 but Laois appear to have regressed slightly since then, Clare will look to boost the scoring difference as they are still slightly behind Limerick on that front. Limerick will be favourites to defeat Offaly but Offaly have had a direct hand in denying Limerick promotion in the previous two seasons and Limerick have only defeated them once in their last 5 league meetings, they don't fear Limerick in the slightest. Kerry v Wexford is the one to keep an eye on, something big could happen here, Wexford not in great form and Kerry made life very difficult for Limerick last time out.


Division 2A

London (18) -v- (17) Kildare (Prediction; LON by 3)
Carlow (15) -v- (19) Derry (Prediction; CAR by 8)
Westmeath (13) -v- (14) Antrim (Prediction; WES by 4)

London possibly flattered by a pretty awful Carlow performance but that relieves the pressure on them, Kildare in relegation danger need two points here. Carlow in disarray at the moment, anything could happen here. Westmeath and Antrim get a chance to size each other up ahead of a probable meeting between the two in the final.


Division 2B

Wicklow (21) -v- (22) Armagh (Prediction; WIC by 6)
Down (16) -v- (24) Mayo (Prediction; DOW by 14)
Meath (20) -v- (26) Donegal (Prediction; MEA by 14)

Meath should get back on track with a comfortable win over Dongal while Mayo are looking for a second big away victory on the trot here but you'd still have to back Down. And pressure on Wicklow if they wish to avoid relegation but Armagh have performed better in the first two rounds and don't be surprised to see them defy the rankings this weekend.


Division 3A

Tyrone (26) -v- (32) Warwickshire (Prediction; TYR by 17)
Monaghan (28) -v- (31) Louth (Prediction; MON by 7)
Roscommon (23) -v- (27) Fingal (Prediction; ROS by 11)

Tyrone should win comfortably here. Louth have a much better chance than the rankings suggest, they have been better than Monaghan in the first two rounds, though home advantage might just shade it for Monaghan. Fingal and Roscommon on course to meet in the final, form would suggest the meeting of these two will be closer than rankings suggest.


Division 3B

Sligo (33) -v- (29) Fermanagh (Prediction; FER by 2)
Longford (30) -v- (34) Leitrim (Prediction; LFD by 11)

Fermanagh seeking a quick return to 3A following relegation in 2015. They meet Sligo in a repeat of last year's Lory Meagher Cup final, which Fermanagh won by 5 points. Longford enjoyed a comfortable win over Leitrim last year who tend to struggle away from home.