Qualifiers and Super 8 are taking shape

Mayo, Tyrone and Monaghan still alive and avoiding each other

ANOTHER weekend down in the race for the Sam Maguire and another step closer to some clarity as to what teams will make up the Super 8s next month.

Kerry’s coronation as Munster champions for the 80th time puts them straight into Group 1 of the Super 8s along with Connacht champions Galway. Sunday saw Dublin and Donegal go into Group 2 as Leinster and Ulster champions respectively.

In the meantime eight more counties bowed out of the All-Ireland Championship by virtue of losing their Round 2 Qualifier games. Offaly, Waterford, Tipperary, Carlow, Down, Sligo, Longford and Louth all made their exit at the weekend, with Clare Monaghan, Mayo, Tyrone, Cavan, Armagh, Kildare and Leitrim moving onto Round 3 of the Qualifiers where they will be further reduced to four team, who will then face the four beaten provincial finalists - Cork, Roscommon, Laois and Fermanagh - to determine the other four teams to play in the Super 8s.

On Saturday Kildare host Mayo and Cavan host Tyrone (although these games are fixed as a double-header in Croke Park), Leitrim host Monaghan and Armagh bring Clare to the Athletic Grounds.

The expectation is that Monaghan and Tyrone will win, while Mayo would be expected to beat Kildare, even though that fixture is currently mired in controversy over the fixing of the game for Croke Park and not Newbridge as it should be per rule.

The final Qualifier is possibly the hardest to call with Division 2 side Clare going north to Division 3 opponents Armagh.

With so much still to play for it’s impossible to predict the make-up of the two Super 8 groups but it’s entirely possible that Kerry could have to face Galway, Tyrone and Mayo all before the August Bank Holiday, or that Dublin could be playing Dublin, Monaghan and Mayo before the same weekend.

For now though all eyes will be on Croke Park and, perhaps Newbridge, to see how that particular stand-off plays out, while Kerry settle down to their business of preparing for that July 14/15 Croke Park date with Galway.