Hurling Power Rankings #1 — Galway start the campaign on top

League champions Galway set the standard in our inaugural round of power rankings, but there’s a long summer ahead.

12 Westmeath 11 Laois

10 Offaly

With a matchup against Westmeath in Mullingar next weekend, Offaly are in a strong position to move into the final four in Leinster, facing either Galway or Dublin on the 18th of June. We’ve parked Offaly in the top ten in our first round of ratings in the anticipation that they are indeed capable semi-finalists, despite only one win in the leagues and tasting defeat already to Laois and Wexford. A win in Mullingar and Offaly will eye an unlikely upset in the Leinster Championship.

9 Dublin

Dublin face a tough task in their opening Championship bout against Galway in Tullamore this Sunday, but victory would catapult them into the conversation for honours and indeed blow the entire Championship wide open again — with Galway currently demanding favouritism in the All Ireland race. Galway were stupendous in the league final, hammering Tipperary 3–21 to 14 points, but if Dublin can put their awful league campaign behind them and put the edge on Galway, they’ll have a realistic path through to the Leinster Final.

8 Limerick

Its Limerick’s turn to throw another spanner into the Championship works if they can turn over Clare in Thurles in a couple of weeks’ time. Limerick put beatings on Laois and Kerry in the league, but their win over Cork will give them some solace that they may not be too far off the chase. Until then, their ranking is hinged on the fact that Clare and Waterford may be too far ahead this year, but never rule out the Shannonsiders on the turf in Semple Stadium.

7 Clare

Clare will want to turn their dismal league campaign around with victory over Limerick in the Munster semi-final. With Tipperary out of the picture, Clare will fancy themselves to go all the way in Munster for the first time since 1998.

6 Waterford

Similarly to our previous two entries, Waterford’s future rankings on this list hinge on their Munster campaign, which starts against Cork on the 18th June. Some will argue Waterford are the best team left in the Munster Championship — victory in the semi-final will set a strong stall out for the rest of the summer as they look to go one better this year, and take sight at the All-Ireland campaign. The only way is up from here.

5 Wexford

A superb league campaign under Davy Fitzgerald, which included massive victories over powerhouses Kilkenny and, evidently, Galway, Wexford are unlucky not to be higher here considering we haven’t seen enough action to truly consolidate this ranking. The Yellowbellies meet Laois next week and victory will throw them into a Leinster semi-final against Kilkenny two weeks later. If Davy can get the engine back up to speed after their demolition of 1B, a Leinster Final won’t be too far off the horizon and their lofty ranking may not seem so ambitious.

4 Tipperary

What a difference a few weeks make. From the side that looked unstoppable going into the league final, Tipperary suddenly have work to do to recover what could become a disastrous defence of their All-Ireland title. Both Galway and Cork deservedly cast Tipperary aside, the Premier County sit 4th purely on the fact of their title as reigning champions, and the room for a turnaround as the summer rolls on.

3 Kilkenny

They haven’t gone away, you know. While their victors in last year’s All-Ireland final have lost twice in two consecutive games, Kilkenny have mosied along and suddenly Brian Cody may be feeling very coy as they await either Laois or Wexford on the 10th of June in their first game of the Leinster Championship. The only way from here is up in the eyes of the Cats, ranking third in our list without even pucking a ball.

2 Cork

Cork! If we had published this list on Friday with the Rebels in 2nd place, The Con would have been laughed out the door. A blistering display — albeit the only display of the championship thus far — has Cork fans feeling ecstatic going into the summer. A tough test against Waterford awaits on the 18th of June however, their ranking may have peaked early.

1 Galway

League champions and ours — and the bookies — top county as the Championship summer kicks into action. Galway’s campaign begins against Dublin next Sunday — a win will solidify their spot at the top and book themselves a semi-final game against Offaly or Westmeath. Galway’s spot at the summit could last long into the campaign.