Retaining Sam Maguire will be no easy feat but don’t sell your shares in the Kingdom just yet

Dick Clerkin

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor will have his team primed for high summer. Photo: Sportsfile

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor will have his team primed for high summer. Photo: Sportsfile

Jack McCaffrey

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor will have his team primed for high summer. Photo: Sportsfile

March 18 2023 02:30 AM

Between Cheltenham and Ireland’s Grand Slam showdown with England, you’d be forgiven for thinking Round 6 of the Allianz Football League will take a sporting back seat this week. You would be wrong.

Tomorrow afternoon, Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher, buoyed by a gritty victory over Kerry, will lead their players out into what will be a championship-type atmosphere in Clones.

Come throw-in, Ireland’s likely Grand Slam victory will already be a distant memory for the 10,000-plus supporters in attendance.

Elsewhere, the 15,000 or so Armagh supporters will welcome Pádraic Joyce’s Galway tonight to an atmospheric Athletic Grounds. There is only one type of ball they care about this weekend. And it isn’t the oval-shaped variety!

The league is, arguably, now the fourth-tier competition on the GAA football calendar. You wouldn’t think it, based on the attendances so far.

Falling in behind Sam Maguire, the provincial championships and the Tailteann Cup, the league will be a lesser footnote at the year’s end than it was previously. But because of its relevance to the competitions that follow, it is proving to be the perfect appetiser. So five rounds into the league season, how are things shaping up around the country? If the top counties were ISEQ shares, who would be rated as a ‘buy’, ‘sell’ or ‘hold’?

BUY

Mayo, Galway, Derry, Dublin

Kevin McStay, has successfully brought a new energy to a Mayo side that looked like it would never recover from the 2021 All-Ireland defeat. New, rejuvenated and recovering players have added a depth to his panel that will be a crucial factor later on.

I was impressed with Galway’s second half against Monaghan, when their backs were against the wall. The Seán Kelly, John Daly, Cillian McDaid, Shane Walsh spine is as good as is out there, and these players have sufficient leadership qualities to drive Galway to another All-Ireland showdown.

Crossing the Shannon, Rory
Gallagher continues to push his Derry panel to the brink of their potential – their impressive comeback victory against Dublin, earning them a further feather in a colourful hat.

My fear, however, is they might struggle to maintain the frightening levels of fitness and energy that their game-plan is dependent on.

Dublin are still a ‘buy’ for me, merely because they are good value following their recent share-price slump.

Critical for an upward trend, however, are a fit and re-energised Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey and Con O’Callaghan. A hard-won All-Ireland against the head would be the sweetest of all for these players.

SELL

Donegal, Kildare, Roscommon

Donegal football is not in good health at present, with off-field events mirroring their struggles between the white lines. The loss of Michael Murphy almost feels like it has ripped the soul out of the relegation-bound county.

Kildare’s recent results have been nothing sort of shambolic. The great white hopes of Leinster football continue to disappoint. A second successive relegation is very conceivable.

Their season could yet hinge on a final-day showdown with neighbours Meath.

Looking west, I was very disappointed with Roscommon when they came to Clones. Petulant in their attitude, they were like a team who felt they were better than they are.

Davy Burke’s men will continue to be competitive, but unless they can find another gear they will likely remain in the shadows of their emerging neighbours.

HOLD

Kerry, Tyrone, Armagh, Monaghan

In terms of value, Kerry are struggling to offer much based on their form thus far. More suited to the Curragh than Cheltenham, Jack O’Connor’s charges will welcome a drier summer sod that they have proven form in.

As always the case with Kerry, summer is the only season that counts. With a growing chasing pack, retaining Sam will be no easy feat.

Tyrone’s win over Kerry in a rain-sodden Healy Park couldn’t have come soon enough. The empty seats that day spoke volumes about the frustration in the county at present.

With the emerging Canavan brothers and a fit Cathal McShane and Mattie Donnelly, only a bitter Monaghan man would write Tyrone off. There is still more convincing to be done before the 2021 All-Ireland winners can be trusted.

Have Kieran McGeeney’s Armagh pushed on from last year’s breakthrough season? I am still not convinced. They will rightfully fancy their chances of beating anyone in the cauldron that is the Athletic Grounds, but their woeful Ulster Championship record needs amending fast.

With two tough fixtures against Galway and Tyrone to finish the league, relegation is still a very real possibility.

Vinny Corey and his management team deserve huge credit for keeping a stretched Monaghan panel as competitive as they have been so far.

Jack McCarron’s importance at the point of attack is illustrated by the fact they have won the only two games he has played thus far.

Tired-looking in Galway, the two-week break should have them refreshed for the arrival of Tyrone tomorrow. Player fitness will largely dictate the year for Vinny and Co. With a full hand they can still compete with the best.

* * * * *

Before signing off, it would be remiss of me not to pay respects to the family, friends and extended GAA network of Liam Kearns.

I had the pleasure of meeting Liam a number of times. A man of strong character and charisma, he left an indelible mark on the wide GAA landscape he covered during his impressive career.

As someone who backed the underdog, his commanding presence on the touchline will be sorely missed.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.