GAA Betting: The All-Ireland Football Championship: Kerry The New Favourites For Sam
Daire Walsh
We are down to the final four in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and we have a new favourite after a dramatic weekend of action.
The best betting sites have significantly re-evaluated their views on the potential champions now that Dublin have been elinimated.
Up until last weekend, the Dubs had been regarded as the clear favourite to claim the Sam Maguire Cup for a second year in succession on Sunday, July 28 at Croke Park – and for the eighth time in 10 seasons.
But defeat to Galway saw Dublin removed from the equation. Can Galway go all the way, or will it be Kerry’s year?
Galway Come From Behind To Oust Defending Champions
Dessie Farrell’s Dublin side appeared well on course for a spot in the penultimate round when they led Connacht champions Galway by four points (0-11 to 0-7) at the midway stage of their quarter-final meeting at Croke Park last Saturday.
Yet Shane Walsh’s five-point haul had kept the Tribesmen in touch during the opening half of the contest, and with Cillian McDaid, John Maher and Dylan McHugh all standing up on the resumption, Galway dug deep to record a sensational 0-17 to 0-16 victory.
Remarkably, this bridged a 90-year gap to their last championship win against Dublin and it was also the Sky Blues’ first quarter-final defeat since Kerry comfortably got the better of them all the way back in 2009.
Kerry, Donegal and Armagh Also Advance To Last-Four
Speaking of Kerry, they played out a dour affair against Derry at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately secured a 0-15 to 0-10 triumph courtesy of a strong final-quarter showing.
Meanwhile, Donegal had eight points to spare (1-23 to 0-18) against Louth earlier on the same day in the Jones’ Road venue.
In the opening game of the weekend on Saturday, Armagh reached an All-Ireland SFC semi-final for the first time since 2005 with a 2-12 to 0-12 win over 14-man Roscommon.
Now that the heavily-backed Dublin are out of the picture, the remaining teams in the competition will all believe that a Sam Maguire Cup success is well within their grasp for the 2024 season.
Kerry The New Favourites For All-Ireland Title
Yet this doesn’t mean that all four teams are regarded as equals in the eyes of betting apps and there is a new favourite for All-Ireland supremacy ahead of the forthcoming semi-finals on July 13 and 14.
Before last weekend’s fare, Kerry were seen as the most likely challengers to Dublin’s throne.
Despite not being at their best, the Kingdom avoided the same fate as that of their long-standing rivals a day earlier when facing Derry in the last-eight.
In a game that was largely devoid of attacking ingenuity, the fact that the Kingdom had 10 players on the scoresheet proved crucial in getting them past Mickey Harte’s northerners.
Next on the agenda for Kerry will be a semi-final encounter with Armagh in Croke Park on Saturday week.
Given their status as the most successful county in the competition (38 titles in total), and also the fact that they were All-Ireland winners as recently as 2022, it comes as little surprise that Kerry are now the new Evens favourites for Sam Maguire glory.
Galway And Donegal Largely Inseparable In All-Ireland Betting
Following their outstanding victory last Saturday, Galway now have a semi-final to look forward to against Donegal on Sunday week.
Prior to sharing the spoils with Armagh in the group stage of the All-Ireland championship, the Tribesmen were up there as one of the main contenders for the Sam Maguire Cup in the eyes of the new betting sites on the market.
They subsequently found themselves down the pecking order, however, and were sixth favourites for the title ahead of their quarter-final duel with Dublin.
That has all changed now, albeit they are effectively neck and neck with Donegal (9/2) in the betting stakes behind Kerry for the All-Ireland.
The O’Donnell County are also available at 9/2 with Ladbrokes in advance of their upcoming meeting in Dublin.
In terms of the betting for the game itself, the westerners have a slight advantage over Donegal with odds of 10/11 for the nine-time champions.
Armagh Eyes Are Fixed On Winning Sam
Regardless, it has all become very tight in the All-Ireland betting and despite facing the new favourites next, there is also good value on Armagh in their quest for a second final success.
There are plenty of bookmakers offering odds of 5/1 on Kieran McGeeney’s charges going all the way in the All-Ireland championship, including BoyleSports.
Their last-eight duel with Roscommon wasn’t the greatest spectacle you are ever likely to see, but goals from Barry McCambridge and Conor Turbitt offered them substantial breathing space by the time the final whistle was blown.
In much the same fashion as Peadar Mogan for Donegal in the following day’s game against Louth, he ended with an impressive haul of 0-5, McCambridge displayed his attacking intent from defence by clocking an excellent tally of 1-2.
Turbitt, Oisin Conaty and Rian O’Neill are three forwards that can do damage from within the Armagh ranks, while Oisin Gallen and Paddy McBrearty are amongst those in the Donegal side with an eye for the target.
Galway duo Shane Walsh and Damien Comer, as well as Kerry’s attacking aces David Clifford and Sean O’Shea, are also more than capable of being match-winners.
In spite of the complaints about the current state of the game, there could be plenty of fireworks in the All-Ireland football championship over the next few weeks.