All Ireland Football - Provincial Winner or Qualifier?

That does look good.

Who do you fancy to win the All Ireland kiddo?

Not a huge GAA man thefly, but Cork and Donegal look the strongest so far to me. Donegal missing Neil Gallagher is a concern though. Doubtful to be available until SF at least so would like to see them getting a friendly QF draw. Kerry obviously the most likely danger to this bet.

Any strong opinions yourself??

Kerry could beat either of the 4........The other teams in the qualifiers would need to draw Mayo to advance.......If Kerry drew mayo you would still have 3 teams running for you.........if kerry drew dublin,cork or donegal and a qualifier drew mayo you might have a 50/50 split...........4/6 worth a stab if you bet odds on.

I'd go for Cork too. Now that they have Ciaran Sheehan, Goulding and O'Neill all fighting fit, they were sorely missed last year against Mayo. They will have to beat Kerry however, a thing they have never done in Croke Park in over 10 years. My only concern for Cork would be the long lay off until their quarter-final, they will be up against a team that will be after playing week in week out. Donegal will take some beating, are they good enough? I think they are. After that it's Dublin and Kerry (can never write them off).

Fairly good draw - Kerry may have to beat Donegal, Cork & Dublin to win it. Market says provincial winner is now around 1/3 mark. Of course, could be Kerry v Kildare semi either.

Re: Cork thefly, yeah they did sufffer badly from injuries last year. Interesting to see how they go against a Kildare team building momentum - they should be more than a match for them physically anyway. A concern I would have about Cork is maybe they could be too physical. When I seen them against Clare in the Munster Final, I thought they put in some very hefty challenges, and a less lenient ref may have shown a red. This in a game they were always going to win comfortably. Now that the ante is being upped, if they got the wrong ref, they could easily find themselves down to 14 in a crunch game. Just a personal observation that stuck with me.

Very tough draw for Donegal, fear that without Gallagher they may come up short.

Can't past Mayo this year. They'll cruise past Down. Dublin won't be a challenge for them in the semis.

Donegal in the final will be tricky but they should be safe enough.

Mayo for Sam.

Yeh mayway I see Sligo gave Mayo's form a major boost at the w/end, but draw wise they're in the easiest side, Dublin are probably the most overrated team in the land, and I wouldn't be surprised if Laois frighten the life out of them without be quite good enough.

+1

I'll certainly be on Laois +7.

Dubs may be the best side in Leinster, but that's like being the tallest midget at the circus.

If there's wind and rain about at the weekend to help even things up a little, who knows what might happen.

kiddo thats a good point you make about Cork's physicality. Interesting to see Joe McQuillan has been chosen as referee for that game. McQuillan can be fussy. He was the man in the middle for Laois/Meath last weekend and as seen he took no nonsense. He had issued seven yellows before he blew for half time, not too sure what the card count was by the end. Although, he did make a very good job of the All Ireland final last year.

Now that the quarter-final pairings are made, I'd still go for Cork. My only concern is they have only played 2 games so far in the championship (including Clare). They're certainly up against it, as you say a 'Kildare team building momentum'.

Of the other games, Kerry and Donegal is the one I'm looking forward too most. Donegal's system is seriously effective this year, how will Kerry cope with these tactics? Big test for both teams. Kerry will find it hard to play their own game but they do have plenty of long range kickers like Sheehan and Donaghy. It's a novelty pairing, both sides have never met in championship football.

On the other side, Dublin will fancy their chances of making another All Ireland final but you cant underestimate Laois. I'd fancy Down to beat Mayo.

My quarter-final predictions:

Cork V Kildare - Cork
Donegal V Kerry - Draw

Down V Mayo - Down
Dublin V Laois - Dublin

the handicap on the laois games looks crazy id have though itd be nearer the plus 4 mark.Laois could have racked up three or four goals during the meath game before they came back could have easily been a double digit win..plus laois have a stronger midfield than dublin..quigley playing serious stuff

the mayo game is interesting..in the backs and midfield think mayo are much stronger.. its the forwards where theres real problems..cant see either corner forward scoring from play..your not gona win matches at Croke Park with that lack of firepower..realistically last year  if cork had everyone fit theyd have won the quarter final match..the best forward in mayo through the 3 rounds of club championship has been Ciaran McDonald and hes not even in the panel while the second best at the moment scoring wise is Mortimer..Under the total points total whatever it is would have to be the bet in this game

your not gona win matches at Croke Park with that lack of firepower True enough erris. Thats what I reckon will be the deciding factor between Down and Mayo. Mayo have some tidy corner forwards like Enda Varley and Michael Conroy but they dont seem to deliver on the big stage do they? Alan Freeman aswell? They will rely heavily on Andy Moran and Cillian O'Connor two of the best forwards in the country. Whereas Down have Coulter, Laverty and Mark Poland all consistent scoring wise, (Danny Hughes aswell but I'm not sure he'll make the game due to injury).

I agree though defensively Mayo are alot stronger, and around the middle also. Aidan O'Se is in line to partner Barry Moran, what a boost that is. The midfield clash between the Mayo pair and Down's Kalum King and Ambrose Rogers will be an intriguing battle.

O Connor really seems to be suffering second season syndrome..hes just not the same player at all this year..plus moran is not a natural forward originally he was a half back..great footballer but hes not gona score 3 or 4 points from play either..dillon not firing this year..Laverty will love croke park but higgins should take care of him..Id a nice bet on varley to score under 1.5 points in the connacht final didnt realise he was on frees from the left..he only got a point tho..dont rate him at all..or conroy/doherty/freeman just never trained on..4 years ago tom parsons was destroying tyrone and was about to go playing oaussie rules..now hes just about making his clubs team in the intermediate championship..some players just peak very early in their careers and i think o connor/ varley/ freeman/ doherty could be similar..Il put it this way when o shea came on against sligo mayo won 90% of ball around the middle and they still only won by two points..

That is an enormous amount of possession to have and only win by two points, realistically a team that holds that dominance in the last quarter should be winning by 6 or 7 points to spare but that just shows the lack of composure Mayo have upfront. In all fairness though Sligo were awarded some questionable frees that kept them in touch.

Regards players peaking very early in their careers, very much a similar scenario down here in Meath. You could name three or four players playing senior football today, exceptional minor footballers but never progressed and are living off their younger days. A prime example being Cian Ward he shows glimpses of what he is capable of doing the odd game but most of the time he goes missing. Cillian O'Connor is still young yet though, remember hes U21 in 2013! Young footballer of the year last season at the age of 19. An accurate freetaker also, give him time.

Keith Higgins is heading for an all star the way he's performing. Keegan and Boyle also. Donal Vaughan is a massive driving force aswell.

the handicap looks big in the laois /dub game but the layers have been uncannily right so far this year in gaa.pp went biggest several times on straight betting(dub hurlers 9/2 for instance)and handicap betting.they were right every time.whoever is doing their odds is doing a good job..

Was out of the country for QF weekend, but happy to see the 4/6 land at the earliest possible stage.

I only got round to watching the Donegal v Kerry game on Sunday. A few things I took from it:

- While looking the better/hungrier team, Donegal relied heavily on Mc Fadden for their scores
- Donegal only seemed to power on in the 2nd half, and while that has been par for the course for them this season, it did come after Sheehan (free-taker) & O'Sullivan had went off injured for Kerry.
- That was at 46 mins, with the score line 1-6 to 0-7, and at that stage it left Kerry with only 1 substitution to make, while Donegal had 4 left.

So while were most impressive mid-way through the 2nd half, there were reasons there as to why they should of done. Also the goal they got was very flukey.

I haven't watched the Cork - Kildare game yet but at this stage am seriously considering a decent bet on Cork.

A consideration re: Cork, as I mentioned before, is their physicality. A concern with having a substanstial bet on the semi-final would be the possibility of a red card changing the course of the game. I see David Coldrick is down to ref it. Any views on his approach to physical matches? I see he took charge of Cork - Kerry and Donegal - Tyrone this season, and having seen the later game, I don't think he will be overly picky.

Any views??

i have seen coldrick give out plenty of yellow cards during games ,so  a player on a yellow will have to be on his toes but cork with their experiance will know that.if coldrick gives a straight red,the player will deserve it.

i think this will be an open game of football with cork coming out on top.they have players in abundance that can take long range points and donegal rely too much on mcfadden and murphy.

kiddo?as an after taught,what do u think of aidan walsh at 10-1 with laddies to be footballer of the year.hes having a great season.imo hes the best mid fielder in the country.

Actually just looked at him last night Kingrat. If you fancy Cork to win it, then he is a definite runner. But 2 big performances in the SF & Final would go a long long way to winning this, and so Colm O'Neill & Donncha O'Connor would look the dangers in the Cork team.

Couple of things to consider:
- Only 3 winners have ever come from a team that didn't win the AI
- 7 of the last 9 winners have been forwards

I personally think Mark Mc Hugh has been outstanding this year, and doesn't get the credit he deserves. A cert for an All-Star imo, but won't win this even if Donegal go all the way (Mc Fadden)

yeah kiddo,absolutely ,mchugh has been excellent.hes the link man when donegal turn over procession and counter at pace.hes an intelligent footballer that can make time and space when on the ball.also he can kick long accurately.it will be interesting to c how cork play him,to man mark or not?

think Cork will have way too much for Donegal. Would not put you off having a lumpy bet, but will hold off myself until I see the forecast for Sunday week.  A wet day would suit Donegal.  On a dry day, Cork good value and cannot see Mayo or Dubs troubling them.
Evn on the wane, Kerry got close to Donegal and that was with Brosnan, Sheehan, Declan O'S all off injured and Cooper on one leg for the last 20.

great call on the provincial v qual winner by the way.  Odds compiler should be shot

The same odds compiler has shefflin at 5-1 to be Top scorer in the hurling champo . Ps - cork are gone . Fill your boots .

did u ever hear of joe canning?

canning will have to score 15 points in final just to beat dowling.
shefflin only two behind canning with a game in hand. obviously if tipp beat kilkenny thats the end of henry but 5/1 is a rick

so kk will have to win and henry score 18 pts in 2 games?and hes not certain to be taking all the frees?5/1 isnt great value to me?

It is if BJG average is right that he scores 11pts a game and 4/6 to get through.

If shef isnt valu at 5-1 , then surely dowling at evs with powers is one of the best bets of all time . A draw in either the semi or final are 2 small risk that are going to b 10-1 anyway .

for shef to be top scorer kk will have to  win all ire(evs.2.35 here)if they lose sun its gone.if they lose all ire its gone.and even if they win it he mightnt score enough or could be injured at some stage? best of luck to the 5/1 people.i agree dowling is ok at evs.

Yeah if they are beat Sun bet is gone but they are 4/6 to get through,if they get through KK could still lose and Shef could score plenty,probably needs 17 points in the two games to win,giving his average is 11 a game,alright that should drop as Tipp and Galway ought to be a better calibre than he has faced so far. Good spot by Swoop79 imo.

Tisn,t looking too bad now that 5/1 for anyone who got it.