Best and worst cases for Mayo ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland draw

A ball hasn’t even been kicked in anger in the provincial finals, but heads in Mayo and beyond will briefly be turning to the All-Ireland championship group stage draw tomorrow.

Sunday’s Connacht Final is still top of the priority list at present for Kevin McStay, no doubt. However, it would be remiss not to have half an eye on GAA HQ tomorrow at 1.30 pm as the ball gets rolling in the race for Sam.

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Here, we’ll look at the best and worst-case scenarios for the Green and Red, from a potential group of death to a more favourable draw.

Before we even get started, here are the Pots ahead of Wednesday’s draw:

Pot One will contain the winners of the Provincial Championships, while Pot Two will contain the losers. Pots Three and Four are comprised of the eight highest finishers in the National Leagues not in a provincial decider.

With the pots determined, here is the worst possible outcome from the draw for Mayo:

If Mayo happen to lose in Sunday’s Connacht decider, then Kerry would be the worst possible Group One team to draw, despite the obvious quality emerging from Ulster. Don’t let Cork running them close fool you, the Kingdom can inflict serious damage to any side in the land.

Even if Mayo emerge victorious over the Tribesmen, there is still every chance that they can land the losers of Donegal and Armagh’s tussle in Pot Two.

The strongest team in Pot Three is obvious. Dublin may have relinquished their grip on the Delaney Cup for the first time in a generation, but they will still prove to be a dangerous beast once the race for national honours gets underway.

From Pot Four, Cork look like they can cause headaches, as evidenced by their Munster clash with Kerry.

With that out of the way, it’s time to take a more positive slant and look at the most favourable possible draw.

Pot Two contains a side that only survived in Division Two and avoided the clutches of Tailteann Cup football in 2026 in Louth. They have been on an upward curve in recent seasons, however, even though Clare reside in Division Three, I’d still narrowly back them to beat the Wee County if it came to it.

In terms of Pot Three, Roscommon seem the worst county of the four. Dublin and Tyrone are established counties among the top ten in the country, while Monaghan’s comprehensive Division Two final win over the Rossies moves them higher in the pecking order.

Lastly, Down are the lowest seeded team in the race for Sam. Unless they produce an unlikely run in next year’s Ulster Championship, they are guaranteed not to even be playing at this level next season.