Time for Ballydonoghue to make their move up
OF all the divisions this is quite possibly the most difficult on in which to come to a decision about who might go up and who might go down.
Some of the teams we’ve tipped (tentatively) for the drop could well find themselves up the other end of the table by the end of eleven rounds. These teams, at this stage at least, appear very well matched.
We’d have a certain amount of confidence in Ballydonoghue to claim one of the three promotion spots – along with a Laune Rangers side determined to live up to the traditions of that great club – but after that everything is ON their day Annascaul remain a pretty formidable team. The battle
BALLYDONOGHUE
HOW much should we read into Ballydonoghue’s form in the North Kerry
BROSNA
THE glory days are probably behind Brosna for now. There’s no shame in
DR CROKES B
DR Crokes’ role in Division 3 this year could end up being a slightly strange
FINUGE
FINUGE are a club in transition. The team which carried them up the
KEEL
HOW many clubs do you see who find themselves relegated and who
LAUNE RANGERS
SLEEPING giants they may be, but Laune Rangers can still pack a punch.
LISPOLE
LISPOLE are a team on the up. Their victory in the novice championship in
LISTRY
up for grabs.
We suspect that Finuge might be in trouble because of how well their hurlers are going at the moment – they will contend for a county hurling title – and maybe Lispole or Keel might find the going tough in the higher division.
St Senans, meanwhile, could make fools of us. They’ve got some great young players, but we can’t ignore how they struggled during last year’s campaign.
PROMOTED: Ballydonoghue, Laune Rangers, Waterville RELEGATED: Finuge, Lispole, St Senans
LISTRY mixed the good with the bad last year. The good was that they won
ST PATS BLENNERVILLE
DOES anybody expect anything other than competitiveness from St
ST SENANS
SENANS came damned close to falling through the trap door last
WATERVILLE
IT’S never easy for a relegated side. One relegation can quickly lead to they had with Listowel Emmets in last year’s Premier Junior championship first round is testament to that. The worry, however, is that they may well be on a little bit of a downward curve
championship? It’s hard to know, but when you watch them being as impressive as they have been over their back-to-back title winning campaigns up north it’s hard not to think
that, to keep going as they had been would be difficult if not impossible for most clubs. That, however, is not to say that they haven’t been or that they won’t remain hugely competitive,
one. No matter how well they do they can’t be promoted, as due to a rule there must be a couple of divisions between the A and the B team. We might be getting a little ahead of
divisions and carried them to two All Ireland club finals is slowly breaking up. They’re just not the force they once were. All the same they had reason to be satisfied with their efforts
fail to bounce back straight away? Or even fall down another division? Not Keel that’s for sure. They’re a resilient bunch. After relegation in 2016 they bounced back in 2017, promoted to
They would have been very pleased with how they performed in the intermediate championship last season. The Rangers were only a couple of kicks of a ball away from a county intermediate
2016 seems to have kick-started a revival of fortunes for the West Kerry outfit. They went all the way to the junior championship semi-finals last year, losing out to Listry. More encouragingly
a very impressive County Junior title seeing off Castlegregory in a cracking final in Austin Stack Park. The bad was that they were relegated from Division 2 and when we say bad
Pats? The Blennerville outfit have been incredibly solid over a long period of time and, while they were relegated from Division 2 last year, they’ll fancy themselves to strike back
year – they needed a goal glut and extra-time to get the better of Gneeveguilla in a relegation play-off. Obviously it’s never encourging when a team finds themselves in a
another. We don’t see that happening with Waterville, however. They’re a good side who play an exciting brand of football, a side who’ve been knocking on the door of the top handful of at the moment. They weren’t nearly as impressive during last year’s league campaign as they were the previous year when they challenged for promotion. This year’s Division 3 should
they should be doing better in county competition. Injuries held them back last year, but hopefully they should be capable of challenging for promotion this year. They barely avoided the
especially in the county league. For the past two seasons they’ve been middle of the pack in the middle division and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue to be the case this
ourselves talking about Crokes as challengers for the top three places anyway. This division is chock-full of quality sides and, while we do acknowledge the amount of talent
in 2017. After a disappointing 2016 campaign, which saw them relegated from Division 2, they stabilised their position last year. Their ambition will be to hold what they have again this
Division 3 as Division 4 champions following a play-off victory over a determined Lispole side. The challenge for them now is to avoid becoming a yo-yo club. Easier said than done
final. Not a bad response from a club who were relegated from Division 2 the previous season. Their league form was pretty solid too, finishing mid-table, but not really in
they made a concerted effort in Division 4 and were promoted, just missing out on a league title with a play-off defeat by Keel. It wouldn’t have taken much for them to reach
that’s a relative term. Division 2 is a heady place for a junior side. Their aim for this year will be to establish themselves as contenders in the Premier Junior championship and to
and challange for promotion again this year. They probably would have been disappointed not to have made a bigger impression in the Premier Junior championship last year, but
relegation play-off, but to dig deep as they did to save their skins shows a real resilience in this bunch of Senans players. It felt at times last year that they were suffering a little bit of a
divisions consistenly for well over a decade. As an intermediate side they should be targeting a quick return to Division 2. That they were knocked out of the first round of last year’s be even more competitive than last and on that basis Annascaul will probably find it tough to challenge for promotion. That said they’re unlikely to be relegated.
drop last year and, while they have two key players involved with the Kerry seniors (Jason Foley and Brian Ó Seanacháin), they should have the depth to cope.
year. It’s possible of course that they could mount a push for promotion, but other clubs (at this point in time) would seem to make more compelling claims.
that exists on Lewis Road at present, Crokes won’t have it all their own way here. They will, however, be highly competitive. At the very least they’re good enough to retain their status.
year as they seek to develop a team and a squad. It’ll be a tough ask for the north Kerry club, but their traditional grit and determination might keep them in the division.
in this hugely competitive division. That said they finished ahead of a hotly fancied Dr Crokes last year... if they were to do the same again this year they’d almost certainly be safe.
the conversation for promotion by the end. That’s something new boss Timmy Fleming will be out to change this year. A push for promotion will be their main aim in 2018.
a county final or win a county league title last year, that shows how good they can be. That said they’ll find the step up to Division 3 a big one. To retain their status would be a good year.
return as soon as possible to Division 2. For sure they could, but a year of consolodation in this division would do them no harm whatsoever. A run to the upper mid-table would suffice.
to lose out to what turned out to be a very good Skellig Rangers side in the first round carries no shame. At the very least they should be capable of staying in the division.
hangover from their North Kerry final appearance, that shouldn’t be an issue this year. If they perform as they can they should be safe, but nothing can be taken for granted.
championship shouldn’t be held against them either – Templenoe were tough side to draw at such an early stage in the competition. Should at least retain their status. Na Gaeil 11 Ballymac’gott 11 Drom Pearses 10 Laune R’gers 11 Finuge 10 Brosna 11 Annascaul 11 B’donoghue 11 St Senans 11 Gneeveguilla 11 Fossa 11 St Mls/F’more 11
2016 DIVISION 3
PWD Ardfert 11 8 1 Currow 11 7 2 St Pats 11 5 3 Annascaul 11 6 1 Gneeveguilla 11 5 3 Drom Pearses 11 5 2 Brosna 11 4 3 St Senans 11 5 1 B’donoghue 11 5 0 Keel 11 4 2 Beale 11 1 2 Tarbert 11 1 0
L2 2 3 4 3 4 4 5 6 5 8 10 19 17 16 13 11 10 10 10 9 9 5 1 Pts 17 16 13 13 13 12 11 11 10 10 4 2