The Allianz National Football League kick off with a Croke Park double-header tonight. Cork will be aiming for a fourth league title in succession but Dublin, Kerry, Mayo will be among the teams that are primed to stop them.
Ger Gilroy will also be joined in studio by Ryan McMenamin, Billy Joe Padden and Conor Deegan to preview the 2013 campaign in a special panel from 4pm.
Armagh
It’s all change for Armagh as the Ulstermen try to regain their Division 1 status at the first attempt. 2012 was something of an annus horribilis as Armagh’s summer ended early. They fell at the first hurdle in Ulster against rivals Tyrone, followed by defeat to Roscommon in Round 1 of the qualifiers.
Before that disappointing summer, Armagh had suffered relegation from the top tier of the league.
But a change of season has heralded a major shift for the Orchard County. Paul Grimley has been handed the reins and he has shorn a dozen regulars from last year’s panel. With all the changes, it will take time for stability to set root so a promotion push might be optimistic this year. Unsurprisingly, Armagh’s McKenna Cup campaign did not go too well with a new generation of players bedding in as the Orchard County were comfortably picked apart by Cavan and Down in Section B.
Derry
The changes have been less drastic at Ulster rivals, Derry. The new man in charge, Brian McIver used the McKenna Cup to introduce a few youngsters like Ciaran McFaul who won the Liam Murray Player of the Year award in the Ulster minor tournament.
Results have been mixed so far, with a win, a draw and a defeat in the McKenna Cup as they look to put a disappointing 2012 behind them.
Derry barely scraped survival in Division 2 last year and failed to get past the first hurdle in the Ulster Championship and the qualifiers, losing to Donegal and Longford respectively.
Longford
Longford had a good league campaign in 2012 as they achieved promotion from Division 3, also beating Wexford in the division final.
The same opponents knocked them out of the Leinster Championship by the narrowest of margins in a replay. But Longford did manage to reach Round 2 of the qualifiers where they lost out in extra-time to Limerick.
But there is optimism ahead of their league opener with Wexford as they go in search of a third successive promotion – if they can endure injury worries that will keep the likes of the Barden brothers and Declan Reilly out for varying degrees of time.
Westmeath
Neighbours Westmeath were closer to the Divison 2 trap door than they were to the promotion places and last year was not a vintage one for the maroon and white. They were eliminated from the Leinster Championship by Louth in the preliminary round although they did earn a measure of revenge by beating The Wee County in the qualifiers.
And they nearly created the shock of the 2012 Championship by taking Kerry to the wire at Cusack Park. The Lakemen had built up a six point lead early in the second half but the Kingdom had to stage a stirring comeback to escape with a one point win.
However pre-season was a bit of a dampener as they lost to Laois and Offaly in the O’Byrne Cup.
Louth
Westmeath’s first opponents of the 2013 league campaign are Louth. The Wee County were in fine pre-season form as they beat UCD and Longford and drew with Meath on the way to an O’Byrne Cup semi-final.
It’s a first year in charge for Aidan O’Rourke who has cast his net wide in search of talent. Although they maintained their Division 2 status in 2012 – including a nine point battering of neighbours Meath - the Championship was a let down after a 16 point hammering at the hands of Dublin in the Leinster quarter-finals and a first round defeat to Westmeath in the qualifiers. So the 2013 campaign will most likely be a time for consolidating their second tier status.
Galway
On the other hand, Galway came very close to promotion in 2012, finishing a point away from the promised land. Although Alan Mulholland remains in charge, it is an end of an era with the retirements of All Ireland-winning greats Padraig Joyce and Joe Bergin.
Mulholland has young talent at his disposal in the quest for an improvement on 2012. While league form was solid, the Championship saw the Tribesmen ousted by Sligo in the Connacht semi-final and repelled by Antrim in the qualifiers.
Results were fairly inconsistent in this year’s FBD league as a promising crop of talent were given a run out but with Division 2 looking a little weaker without Meath, Kildare and Tyrone, Galway will feel confident about challenging for a top two finish.
Laois
Laois will also be aiming for a promotion place after relegation from Division 1 last term. The O’Moore County might have had a torrid time in the top tier but they gained some measure of redemption by navigating their way through all four rounds of the qualifiers before an unfortunate three point defeat to then-reigning champions Dublin in the All Ireland quarter-finals.
Laois’ O’Byrne Cup form was generally good, aside from a loss to Offaly, so Justin McNulty’s team will be quietly confident of at least being in contention for promotion.
Wexford
This time last term, Wexford were celebrating elevation to Division 2 after a fine campaign in the third tier. Their Championship form flickered as they reached a Leinster semi-final but it failed to truly ignite with a qualifier defeat to Tipperary.
And their O’Byrne Cup form has quelled any flames with a string of losses to Kildare, Carlow IT and DIT which suggests they have a fight on their hands to avoid an immediate drop back to Division 3.
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