And off we go again.
Less than three weeks after Portarlington claimed the 2020 Laois SFC title with a comprehensive win over Graiguecullen, the 2021 championship gets underway this evening with the meeting of Portlaoise and Courtwood in O’Moore Park.
As always there are plenty of questions as the action gets underway again. The most pressing one is fairly simple. Is there anyone fit to stop Port winning titles back to back and emulating the feat the club achieved in 1955 by winning two championships in the same year?
Are Portlaoise a busted flush or can they rise again? Can Emo, Graigue or Ballyfin improve on the 2020 performances they showed a couple of weeks ago?
Is there any other challenger out there capable of coming from the pack?
And what of the other end? Who is in danger of losing their senior status?
As has been the case since 2008, the competition follows the same format where there’s a backdoor system in place for the first two rounds.
Win your opening game and you’re safe from the drop. Lose your first two games and you’re out of the championship and into relegation playoffs.
We can again expect the usual quota of excitement, drama, controversy, thrilling clashes and boring battles.
As always, may the best team win.
We profile all 16 teams below.
Arles-Killeen
Manager: Rory Stapleton
Main Man: Donie Kingston. As always, he can expect plenty of attention and will probably have to move between attack and midfield. If he’s at the top of his game, Arles-Killeen would have a chance against most teams.
Last Year: Lost to Graiguecullen in the opening round but bounced back to see off neighbours Arles-Killeen before losing to The Heath in Round 3
Prospects: Have been beaten in Round 3 of the championship in each of the past two seasons so a quarter-final appearance in Rory Stapleton’s debut season would represent progress on that.
While they have a large number of players in their 30s, Donie and Paul Kingston will, as ever, require attention while Colin Dunne is a new addition and a quality young player who has impressed with the Laois U-20s and minors in the past two seasons.
Their opening round game against Stradbally is winnable though they aren’t above being dragged into a relegation dogfight either and a loss in that fixture could put them on the back foot.
Odds: 33/1
Ballyfin
Manager: Killian Fitzpatrick
Main Man: Sean Moore. A joy to watch and Ballyfin’s game is built around getting ball into him. Opposition teams will rightly focus on limiting his threat – and how Ballyfin develop beyond that will be interesting to observe.
Last Year: Beat Rosenallis, Ballyroan-Abbey and The Heath to reach a second straight semi-final but were soundly beaten by eventual champions Portarlington a couple of weeks ago.
Prospects: Having only been senior since 2015, they have now been in back-to-back semi-finals though their 10-point loss to Portarlington shows they are still some way off the top.
Face Port again in the opener which is a huge ask although James Finn will be available after having his two-match ban lifted after his red card in that 2020 semi-final.
Likely to be in the losers section and could be vulnerable if they don’t hit the heights they did in 2020 and 2019.
Odds: 20/1
Ballylinan
Manager: Mick Lillis
Main Man: Gary Walsh. Is suspended for the first game which leaves Ballylinan somewhat vulnerable against Rosenallis but Walsh is vital to Ballylinan’s hopes and contributes a huge proportion of their scores.
Last Year: Lost to Portlaoise in the opening game but wins over Rosenallis and Ballyroan-Abbey put them into a quarter-final where Graiguecullen had too much.
Prospects: With Jamie Farrell and Gary Walsh suspended for their first round game against Rosenallis, they could be under pressure in that one.
A loss in that game and a tough draw in the second one might leave them scrapping relegation but they should be too strong for that – and with a full squad have the potential to at least make the quarter-finals again.
Odds: 25/1
Ballyroan-Abbey
Manager: Padraig Clancy
Main Man: Marty Scully. Has suffered a lot with injury in recent seasons but at his best, he is a serious handful and can create huge opportunities for the forwards around him.
Last Year: Stunned St Joseph’s with a late goal in the very first game of last year’s competition but lost their remaining games to Ballyfin and Ballylinan and were knocked out in Round 3.
Prospects: Having won two of the last three minor titles, Ballyroan-Abbey are a team that have potential to improve and if county senior players Marty Scully and Diarmuid Whelan are fit and in form, they have to be eyeing up a run to the knockout stages.
If Killeshin’s injury list is as bad as we’re hearing, Ballyroan should get off to a winning start and safe from the threat of relegation, anything less than a quarter-final appearance would be a disappointment.
Odds: 28/1
Clonaslee-St Manman’s
Manager: Conor Gorman
Main Man: Niall Corbet. A classy outfield player as well as being Laois’s goalkeeper. A scorer from play, a free-taker and distributer, it will be interesting to watch him at senior level
Last Year: Caused a mild shock by getting the better of Crettyard in the intermediate final and returned to the senior ranks after a two-year absence.
Prospects: Across the decades they have never made an impact at senior after winning the intermediate and their stay at the top level has invariably only ever been for a couple of years.
Can it be different this time? In Niall Corbet they have a forward of genuine quality and they have plenty of ball players, pace and mobility that they may have lacked previously at senior.
They could pause problems for St Joseph’s this weekend but history tells us that they’ll be closer to the bottom of the pile than the top of it.
Odds: 50/1
Courtwood
Manager: Eddie Kinsella
Main Man: Niall Donoher. Courtwood’s longest-serving player and they’ve plenty of quality younger players like Niall Dunne, Alan Kinsella, Sean O’Flynn and Matthew Byron. But Donoher is the one that ties it all together.
Last Year: Lost heavily to O’Dempsey’s in their opening game and then to Killeshin in Round 2 to end up in the relegation playoffs. Rosenallis got the better of them in the relegation semi-final but they stayed up thanks to a hard-earned win over Arles-Kilcruise.
Prospects: In their third year back senior, they have Eddie Kinsella back as manager, a host of injured players back available and did good business in the off season by recruiting former Laois U-20 midfielder Rob Tyrell from Camross.
Got to Round 3 in their first year up in 2019 but only survived by winning the relegation final last year. In seven senior games since returning, their only wins have been against the now-relegated Arles-Kilcruise.
Have a tough opening game against Portlaoise but should have enough to stay up and a last eight appearance could be within their radar.
Odds: 50/1
Emo
Manager: John Strong
Main Man: Padraig Kirwan. Was exceptional throughout the 2020 championship, even in the loss to Graiguecullen when Emo struggled elsewhere. Followed up that form in the league final win over Arles-Killeen and offers a serious threat with his powerful runs from the half-back line.
Last Year: Enjoyed a great championship when it was played in 2020 with impressive wins over Killeshin, O’Dempsey’s and Portlaoise – but were second best when they met Graiguecullen in the semi-final four weeks ago.
Prospects: Will be disappointed at their semi-final showing against Graiguecullen after being arguably the most impressive team in the games played in 2020 and the ones that actually knocked Portlaoise out.
Have great pace and movement across the field and while they don’t have a large panel, they do have a nice spread of quality.
Face a testing opening game against neighbours O’Dempsey’s but if they recapture their 2020 form, they’re as good as any in the chasing pack behind Portarlington.
Odds: 11/1
Graiguecullen
Manager: Kevin Doogue
Main Man: Mark Timmons. Graigue are a well-balanced team but Timmons is still the main man, knitting the backline together and regularly even getting up the field from full-back to get vital scores.
Last Year: Reached their first final since 2011 after wins over Arles-Killeen, The Heath, Ballylinan and Emo but were some way off Portarlington in the final.
Prospects: Their consistency across the past decade is highly commendable and they’re behind only Portarlington and Portlaoise in our view.
The addition of county underage standard players Kian Lawlor and Conor Kelly will be a boost and while they have a gap to bridge to challenge Portarlington, another extended run is definitely within their capabilities.
Odds: 12/1
Killeshin
Manager: Christy Bolger
Main Man: Shane Bolger. An injury doubt for their opening round game against Ballyroan-Abbey but Bolger was very good for them last year, both as a tigerish defender and as a ball carrier going forward.
Last Year: After reaching the 2019 final, they regressed somewhat last year when they were well beaten by Emo in the opening round. Improved thereafter with a win over Courtwood and then were knocked out by O’Dempsey’s in a thrilling Round 3 clash.
Prospects: We’re hearing of a long list of absentees that includes the aforementioned Shane Bolger as well as Evan Lowry, David McDermott and Adam Deering while Stephen Attride is still out of the country.
But in former Clare player Cillian Roche they have a new goalkeeper and Conor Heffernan is an outstanding young player who is line for his first senior start.
Outsiders for that first game but with a closer to full-strength team they should be strong enough to avoid relegation bother.
Odds: 16/1
O’Dempsey’s
Manager: Eoin Kearns
Main Man: Matthew Finlay. Finlay and Mark Barry make for a serious attacking duo and Finlay is a fine free-taker, a threat close to goals and has been very consistent across the past number of seasons.
Last Year: Scored a phenomenal seven goals in their first round win over Courtwood but were beaten by Emo in Round 2, scraped over Killeshin in Round 3 and then went down to Portarlington in the quarter-final.
Prospects: Former Laois selector Eoin Kearns has taken over as manager and while they did just enough to avoid relegation from Division 1 of the league, they did show their ability with a good win over Portlaoise.
Don’t seem to be going as well as previous years and look to be a bit less experienced. Could be up against it facing Emo but again another side that should be strong enough to stay up.
Odds: 12/1
Portarlington
Manager: Martin Murphy
Main Man: Colm Murphy. Port have quality all over the field but Colm Murphy, as he showed in the county final win, can both score and make the play. Keeping him quiet is easier said than done and if there’s any chance of stopping Port, one of the first thing opponents will need to do is stop Murphy.
Last Year: Claimed their first county title since 2001 with a comfortable win over Graiguecullen in the final. Had earlier beaten Ballyfin, O’Dempsey’s, Portlaoise and Stradbally.
Prospects: The champions and the favourites and showed the quality of their panel by starting only half of their county final team in the recent league final against Portlaoise and still being able to win it.
They’re the strongest team and if the retain the same hunger and application they should win it again. But a slip in application and some bad luck would bring them back to the pack.
With the age profile and quality of their panel, they should really be winning a handful of titles over the next couple of years – seeing how they cope with that challenge will be one of the most interesting aspects of this championship.
Odds: 13/8
Portlaoise
Manager: Kevin Fitzpatrick
Main Man: Kieran Lillis. Player of the Year in 2019, Laois captain over the past two seasons and holder of 12 county championship medals. An inspirational force from midfield and will be the driving force in their bid to get back to the top table.
Last Year: Knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Emo which made it their earliest exit since 2006. Had been off colour throughout the campaign, losing to Portarlington in Round 2, though did have wins over Ballylinan and St Joseph’s either side of it.
Prospects: There are a lot of similarities between now and the early 1990s when Portlaoise’s success dried up and they went eight years without a senior title.
They were subdued in 2019 and still managed to win the championship and poor last year and were knocked out early. Look like they’ll be well prepared under Kevin Fitzpatrick but with their underage teams nowhere near as successful as previously they don’t have the same aura about them as they used to have.
Clubs won’t fear them as they once did but they are still the most likely challengers to Port.
Odds: 2/1
Rosenallis
Manager: Paddy Dunne
Main Man: Eoin Dunne. Will again form a formidable midfield partnership with John O’Loughlin, which is as good as any pairing out there. A fielder and a scorer, he has been excellent for Rosenallis across the past couple of seasons.
Last Year: In their first year up senior, they ended up in a relegation playoff against Courtwood, which they won. Lost their first two games against Ballyfin and Ballylinan, though were quite competitive in both.
Prospects: Have never won a senior football championship match in their history – but should have a good chance against Ballylinan this weekend.
Have a selection of fine players but they’ve a handful of injuries and as we saw with their hurlers last weekend that can have a big impact.
Should have enough about them to stay up but start the campaign as one of the lower-ranked teams.
Odds: 50/1
St Joseph’s
Manager: Mick Dempsey
Main Man: Adam Campion. A quality defender who is invariably sent out to limit the opposition’s top forward. Can get forward to good effect too.
Last Year: Knocked out by Portlaoise in Round 3 after losing to Ballyroan-Abbey in the first game and then beating Stradbally in Round 2.
Prospects: Competitive, organised and structured but haven’t had enough in the last number of years to put together a decent run.
In Mick Dempsey’s second year, can that change? Having been knocked out by Portlaoise in four of the last five years, they’d probably rather avoid them for as long as possible.
Too good to go down but don’t seem to have enough about them to properly challenge.
Odds: 11/1
Stradbally
Manager: Greg Ramsbottom
Main Man: Colm Begley. Eoin Buggie, Garry Comerford and younger players like Conor Goode and Darragh Carolan are hugely important too but a fully-fit Begley is paramount to Stradbally’s hopes.
Last Year: Ended up in a relegation semi-final against Arles-Kilcruise which they won, having lost their earlier games, narrowly, to Portarlington and St Joseph’s.
Prospects: In last year’s championship they gave Portarlington a better game than anyone but they still ended up in relegation bother for the fifth time in seven seasons.
Have fine footballers throughout the field but will need to be at their best against Arles-Killeen as that could be a tricky enough tie. Have a handful of injuries and if that gets worse at any stage they could be dragged back into the playoffs again.
We suspect they’ll win one of their first two games to avoid that this time around.
Odds: 20/1
The Heath
Manager: Shane Courtney
Main Man: Denis Booth. One of The Heath’s longest-serving players and a fine servant to club and county over the years. A rock at full-back or centre-back in giving The Heath a platform to build from.
Last Year: Enjoyed their best run in a number of seasons by getting to the quarter-final where they lost to Ballyfin. Had earlier beaten the two Arles teams though lost to Graiguecullen.
Prospects: Last year’s run the last eight was a welcome relief from the relegation scraps of previous campaigns but it’s hard to see them beat Graiguecullen this weekend and if they
Odds: 33/1
SEE ALSO – Previewed and Profiled: Open contest expected as 2021 Laois IFC set to get underway
The post Previewed and Profiled: Can anyone stop Portarlington in the race for the 2021 Laois SFC title? appeared first on Laois Today.
source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/09/02/previewed-and-profiled-can-anyone-stop-portarlington-in-the-race-for-the-2021-laois-sfc-title/
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