Football Power Rankings #1 — Dublin and Kerry lead the race for Sam
The League finalists lead a long line of contenders for 2017’s Sam Maguire.
25 Waterford 24 Carlow 23 Louth 22 Offaly 21 Leitrim 20 Fermanagh 19 Westmeath 18 Clare 17 Down 16 Derry 15 Laois 14 Armagh 13 Cavan 12 Meath 11 Roscommon
10 Kildare
Kildare weren’t too far off of Galway in the Division 2 final, losing by the kick of a ball in Croke Park. They have a realistic route through Leinster, too, kicking things off in what’s going to be a massive game against Laois and a semi-final against either Louth or Meath. The Lilywhites could have a long summer in the sun yet.
9 Tipperary
Tipperary were the darlings of football last year, getting all the way to the semi-final and showing it’s not a million miles away for some of the lesser footballing counties. They’re straight into the semi-final after a fantastic league campaign, winning Division 3. They’ll meet either Cork or Waterford, a win against either and it could be another unforgettable season for Tipperary’s football following.
8 Cork
Cork await Waterford this weekend, and despite Tipperary’s arrival are likely to be Kerry’s only real threat in Munster this year. Their league campaign wasn’t too impressive, but it’s hard not to see past them getting past the Déise and following it up quickly with the Premier.
7 Galway
After winning Division 2 in the Allianz League, scoring plenty along the way, Galway’s game against Mayo in a few weeks time will tell a lot if they can go toe to toe with the giants from in Connacht. A win would be massive for the county, which has seen their hurlers climb to the summit of our hurling ranks.
6 Monaghan
Monaghan beat off Fermanagh in the preliminary round of Ulster in Clones. Buoyed by their strong league campaign, they rank ahead of the likes of Cork and Galway, although have a tough path towards Ulster glory — Cavan is next followed by either Down or Armagh.
5 Tyrone
Tyrone await Derry this weekend, to book a semi-final berth against Donegal in the Ulster Championship. The bookmakers believe Tyrone are the team to beat in Ulster, despite a 12 point to 0–06 loss in Ballybofey earlier this year. Derry will be no pushovers, mind, despite a drab enough league campaign.
4 Donegal
A hugely impressive hammering over Antrim last weekend, Donegal await the winners of Tyrone and Derry in what is sure to be a cracking round of Ulster Football. They have set the early marker for Ulster clubs in our ranking.
3 Mayo
Mayo kicked off their Connacht campaign with comfortable victory over Sligo. Whatever about Aidan O’Shea and shameless selfies, Mayo are still in the top three in the country and should they step past their semi-final against Galway in June — who will be no pushovers — Mayo will face either Roscommon, London or Leitrim in July. Then it will be all systems go in the hunt for Sam Maguire.
2 Kerry
The Kingdom triumphed in the Allianz Football final, despite suffering losses against Monaghan and Mayo during the group stage. They await Clare or Limerick in the semi-final of the Munster Championship, with the aim of sealing five in a row down south. Their real ambition will be honours come September.
1 Dublin
Six Leinster championships in a row, the hunt for three in a row well within their sights, and on the back of a dominating Allianz League campaign, it’s going to be very hard to see Dublin any lower than #1 here as the summer rolls on. Despite losing to Kerry in the final, we can’t see past Dublin as the top team in the country going into the Championship. First: Carlow on the 3rd June in Portlaoise. A penalty kick for the Dubs.
