LEINSTER
DUBLIN
Manager: Mattie Kenny (4th year)
Odds: All-Ireland 40/1; Leinster 6/1
First up: Laois, Parnell Park, April 16th, 6.30
League selection policy geared to results rather than experimenting, which made the drubbing by Kilkenny all the more painful and leaves a potentially shallow panel. Dependent on Eoghan O’Donnell at full back, albeit in a strong defence, and the accuracy up front of Donal Burke but Wexford and Galway aren’t entirely beyond their grasp even though both matches are away.
GALWAY
Manager: Henry Shefflin (1st year)
Odds: All-Ireland 7/1; Leinster 11/8
First up: Wexford, Chadwicks Wexford Park, April 16th, 4.30
The excitement generated by Henry Shefflin’s appointment didn’t exactly surge through the league. Ronan Glennon had an encouraging campaign but in general graduates of the underage successes haven’t been convincingly swamping the seniors. Familiar names continue to dominate. It’s a first season without Joe Canning in 15 years and that leaves a leadership hole. Likely to be a transitional championship.
KILKENNY
Manager: Brian Cody (24th year)
Odds: All-Ireland 10/1; Leinster 13/8
First up: Westmeath, TEG Cusack Park, April 16th, 6.0
Topped Division 1B again. Well placed to win Leinster but that’s probably a commentary on the province. Defence was second meanest in Division 1 – featuring two of the league’s best newcomers Mikey Butler and David Blanchfield. Attack, less convincing: Pádraig Walsh, switched to centre forward, has impressed but still a big reliance on TJ Reid bouncing back after the club season.
LAOIS
Manager: Séamus Plunkett (2nd year)
Odds: All-Ireland 1000/1; Leinster 200/1
First up: Dublin, Parnell Park, April 16th, 6.30
Very resilient over the past two years in preserving their top-flight status. They finally get a crack at the round-robin with matches against top counties in decent weather but corresponding need for a deep panel. Séamus Plunkett’s team found form to see off Antrim in Division 1B and have quality players around the field: Stephen Maher, Cha O’Dwyer and Pat Purcell.
WESTMEATH
Manager: Joe Fortune (1st year)
Odds: All-Ireland 5000/1 and Leinster 500/1
First up: Dublin, Parnell Park, May 19th, 3.0
Westmeath have the unprecedented disadvantage of not having been in Division 1. Joe Fortune’s team emphatically rectified that in the 2A final but will be a bit undercooked for this and condensed schedule a challenge without a deeper panel. Still, Davy Glennon, the former Galway hurler, lit up the league final and Killian Clarke has long been a reliable scorer.
WEXFORD
Manager: Darragh Egan (1st year)
Odds: All-Ireland 28/1 and Leinster 9/2
First up: Galway, Chadwicks Wexford Park, April 16th, 4.30
Great strides – Division 1’s only 100 per cent record and best defence – made by Wexford under Darragh Egan were brutally contextualised by Waterford in semi-final. Reality is somewhere in between. Rory O’Connor had a terrific divisional campaign and new players got runs. Not big scorers and they need Lee Chin, who missed nearly the entire league with a hamstring problem.
MUNSTER
CLARE
Manager: Brian Lohan (3rd year)
Odds: All-Ireland 28/1; Munster 16/1
First up: Tipperary, FBD Semple Stadium, April 24th, 2.0
Ill-suited by the return of the round robin given the presence in Munster of the country’s top three teams. League campaign undermined by injuries with Aidan McCarthy, an important presence last year, likely to miss the championship and Mark Rogers out for a while. Good news is that Tony Kelly is back and Shane O’Donnell and Peter Duggan are almost there.
CORK
Manager: Kieran Kingston (3rd year)
Odds: All-Ireland 15/2; Munster 5/1
First up: Limerick, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, April 17th, 4.0
Maybe reaction to league final was extreme but many key selection issues remain live. Has the defence sufficiently improved? It didn’t look like that in Thurles. Now talk is of moving out Mark Coleman to make better use of his hurling. If Daire O’Leary is absent who plays full back? How best to deploy the promising Ciarán Joyce? Answers needed.
LIMERICK
Manager: John Kiely (6th year)
Odds: All-Ireland Evens; Munster 8/11
First up: Cork, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, April 17th, 4.0
Counting on their perfect timing, the champions have ground to cover after unengaged league. The return of the round robin means they won’t have neatly calibrated schedule of last two years. Trawling for new talent in the fifth year of current team, there’s no prospect of radical change. If they get to their ceiling, no one will match them. If.
TIPPERARY
Manager: Colm Bonnar (1st year)
Odds: All-Ireland 18/1; Munster 12/1
First up: Waterford, Walsh Park, April 17th, 2.0
Uphill task for Colm Bonnar. The team is in transition but bringing on the next generation of hurlers is tricky when two of the best, Bryan O’Mara and Ciarán Connolly are travelling this year. Big question mark is lack of pace at the back even if there’s enough talent in attack to pose questions for anyone. Overall, though, a struggle.
WATERFORD
Manager: Liam Cahill (3rd year)
Odds: All-Ireland 7/2; Munster 3/1
First up: Tipperary, Walsh Park, April 17th, 2.0
Already rated number two behind Limerick, they were big movers in this year’s league: winning it, more than doubling their goal averages and finding some really promising young players, especially midfielder Carthach Daly. They managed without Jamie Baron, who also misses some championship. Pace and precision everywhere, Liam Cahill’s team are well-equipped to close the gap on the champions.
