The opening round of the Allianz Football League is stacked with massive clashes. Here’s our guide to the games to watch this weekend
Division 1: Mayo v Kerry (live on TG4 at 2pm)
Looking at the eight teams involved, there really should be no bad games in the top tier this season. This week, even a meeting of Dublin and Cork is only second fiddle to the rematch of Mayo and Kerry in Killarney.
Since those blockbuster pair of games to decide the All-Ireland finalists, there has been chnages on both sides. Mayo are now under the helm of Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly after James Horan stepped down. Members of the Mayo panel found their former bainisteoir’s departure hugely emotional so we really can’t wait to see what the new management duo can bring to a team that has been so close so often.
As for Kerry, the reigning All Ireland champions may have a reputation for disdain for the League but that is not based in fact (they have won it more than anyone) and with League performance now closely allied to Championship success, Eamon Fitzmaurice will be anxious to keep the pace up.
While Colm Cooper is still a few months away from a return, according to our Kerry spies, Tommy Walsh is back in harness and, as he told us, raring to go.
With neither side suffering too badly on the retirement front, bar Declan O’Sullivan of course, the sides could line up in a familiar fashion but reports are that at least Mayo will put out an experimental side, possibly including eligible at last Gavin Duffy. Kerry only had one game in the McGrath Cup so they have to be lacking match sharpness while Mayo at least had a few games in the FBD to find their feet.
Home advantage, plus a few more veterans, may just swing it for Kerry.
Division 2: Kildare v Down
Two teams that sit in the second tier but with the feeling they should be in the top tier. Kildare only dropped into Division 2 after a poor campaign last term that saw them being far too porous at the back to survive. Down had a middling year in Division 2 and neither side can look back at the summer with much to shout about either. In fact, it was Kildare who ended Down’s summer in Round 2B in Newry, hammering the home side 0-11 to 1-18.
Down should be a much different fish in 2015. Benny Coulter is gone but new manager Jim McCorry has a fine panel that will, in time, be bolstered by the returned Marty Clarke. Illness should rule the former AFL man out of this one and that favours the home side.
Kildare had a great pre-season under Jason Ryan. The Lilywhites went down to Dublin in the O’Byrne Cup final, but only after a massive fight and that game has left it toll, with the Kildare treatment table groaning under the weight of four or five. However, Ryan expects the likes of Peter Kelly and Eoghan O’Flaherty to be back and they should be too strong for Down at this stage of the season.
Division 3: Armagh v Tipperary
If Armagh are doing half the training that has been reported then they’ll run the legs off Tipperary in this clash fixed for the Athletic Grounds on Sunday. The Orchard County went from what was effectively the old Division 3 in 2002 to winning the All-Ireland title, but if they are to go anyway close to that this year, they’ll need a good start at home.
Tipperary come into the game having to plan without the services of star defender Ciarán McDonald. He’s set to miss the entire league due to a hip injury and replacing him as the gate-keeper in the Tipperary defence won’t be an easy task for Peter Creedon.
Tipp’s only game in January came with a loss to Cork in the McGrath Cup and with ‘Geezer’ looking to mark a statement and restore the fortunes of Armagh football we expect a win for the home support to enjoy.
Division 4: Wicklow v Waterford
It’s been regularly called the toughest division to gain promotion from due to the desperation shown by sides in their attempt to escape from the basement tier of the Allianz L eague. Wicklow just missed out on promotion to Tipperary and Clare in 2014, and take on a Waterford side fresh from a McGrath Cup success over Cork, on Saturday night.
There are encouraging signs coming from the south-east but Wicklow will be a tough test. Home advantage in Fraher Field will count, especially with the weather forecast, and the Deise can complete a remarkable month by claiming a major scalp on day one.
