Who is going to win the Mayo senior club championship?
The hype around Mayo winning their first All-Ireland title in 75 years and bringing Sam Maguire home hasn’t fully died down yet. But the club championship starts this weekend. And we take a look at the race for the senior title this year.
Who are the favourites? Who are the dark horses? And who might end up in a relegation battle?
Our panel of Michael Gallagher, David Rischke and Oisín Bradley discuss all things Mayo senior football championship ahead of a jam-packed weekend full of exciting action.
Ballina Stephenites are going for a four-in-a-row this year, after their miraculous comeback in the final replay against Westport last year.
And it’s expected the men from Clew Bay will pose a threat to the Moysiders’ ambitions again this year.
Crossmolina Deel Rovers would still feature on many pundits’ list of contenders - even without Kobe McDonald, who is starting his adventure in Australia with St Kilda’s these days.
There will be a pack of teams which can trouble any of the favourites on a good day. One of the most consistent performers in Mayo club football have been Ballintubber, who have qualified for the quarter-final every single year since they came up to senior level following their intermediate title in 2007.
We won’t forget mentioning Breaffy. With plenty of star power on their team, All-Ireland winners Aidan O’Shea, Matthew Ruane and Jack Livingstone will come with a huge wind in their sails.
There are plenty of more questions: Will Castlebar Mitchels take their learning from the last couple of years and go on a run?
What about Aghamore or Balla: Will theiy stage an upset? Will Claremorris and their power of youth have a say?
And what about Kilmeena, led by their All-Ireland winning star Jack Carney, will they perform better than during their first time up in the senior championship two years ago when the team showed how competitive they are but ultimately were relegated?