GAA Betting: Who Are The Contenders For 2025 National Hurling League Title?
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Following an opening weekend that saw six of the seven teams in the competition making their bows for 2025, the best betting sites are once again looking at who the most likely winners are of this year’s National Hurling League.
While Limerick were left idle due to the uneven number of counties in Division 1A of the NHL, their provincial rivals Cork and Tipperary were in action and made a bright start to their respective campaigns.
First Round Wins For Cork, Tipperary And Kilkenny
At Chadwicks Wexford Park last Saturday evening, 2024 All-Ireland finalists Cork recorded a comprehensive 2-21 to 0-12 triumph over Wexford – Declan Dalton (1-5), Padraig Power (1-4), Darragh Fitzgibbon and Brian Hayes (0-4 apiece) leading the scoring for the Rebels.
On Sunday afternoon, Tipperary began their third season under the management of Liam Cahill in fine style as they defeated Galway on a final scoreline of 3-25 to 2-16.
Darragh McCarthy, Dylan Walsh and Gearoid O’Connor all found the net to guide the Premier County towards a morale-boosting win.
Rounding out the Division 1A winners last weekend were Kilkenny, who enjoyed a narrow two-point victory (0-23 to 0-21) at the expense of defending league and All-Ireland champions Clare at Cusack Park, Ennis on Sunday.
Interestingly, all three games at the weekend in the NHL top flight saw the away side come out on top.
Whether this trend continues over the next few weeks remains to be seen, but Limerick will be hoping to become the latest winners on the road when they face Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh this coming Saturday evening.
Limerick Still Slight Favourites
Despite only taking on a watching brief for the opening round of fixtures, the Treaty remain the favourites for league glory at 9/4 with Bet365.
While there have been seasons when Limerick were short of their best in the springtime, they have nevertheless secured NHL titles under current boss John Kiely in 2019, 2020 and 2023.
The championship will be the main priority for Limerick following a 2024 campaign that saw them losing out to Cork at the semi-final stage of the Liam MacCarthy Cup, but they may well be looking to lay down a marker in the NHL.
Cork, on the other hand, could potentially do with the boost of a national title, given their most recent crown of this nature was the All-Ireland senior hurling title of 2005.
You have to go back to 1998 for the last time they earned top league honours, and the odds of them bridging this 27-year gap are 5/2 with Bet365.
Kilkenny Realistic Contenders For The League
Having lost to Limerick and Clare in the last two NHL finals – before being defeated by both teams at the business end of the championship – Kilkenny are seeking to go a step further in 2025.
Billy Drennan and Martin Keoghan were in fine form during their aforementioned win over title holders Clare, amassing a combined tally of 12 points.
They continue to be in the mix since Derek Lyng took over as Cats supremo from the legendary Brian Cody and they are currently available at 4/1 for a league success.
Resurgent Tipperary Aiming For Record NHL Haul
On the competition’s roll of honour, Kilkenny are joint top with Tipperary on 19 titles.
However, since the Premier last tasted league success in 2008, their Noreside counterparts have won the NHL on six occasions – albeit their most recent triumph in 2021 was shared with Galway.
Their victory over Galway last weekend indicates they are intent on claiming a 20th crown and will be confident of making it two wins from two against Wexford in Thurles this Sunday.
After being viewed as seventh favourites for the NHL with some betting apps before their game with the Tribesmen, Tipp are now fourth in the betting rankings with Boylesports at 11/2.
Defending Champions Seen As Outsiders
Following their narrow loss to Kilkenny on the opening day of the league, Clare are now in the midst of a down week in Division 1A of the NHL.
Banner manager Brian Lohan didn’t exactly have his full complement of players on the field against the Cats, with just five of the players who started last July’s All-Ireland final win over Cork selected in the first 15.
Tony Kelly and hurler of the year Shane O’Donnell were notable absentees, but David Reidy did finish the game with 0-8 to his name and Clare had initially been in a strong position before Kilkenny eventually rallied.
It is unknown how high a league title win will be on Lohan’s list of priorities for 2025, but as it stands, they are just 8/1 to win a second successive NHL crown.
Galway And Wexford Not Seen As Major Contenders
In the wake of their heavy defeat to Tipperary, Galway will have a lot of work to do if they are to establish themselves as potential league title challengers.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Connacht men as this Sunday sees them travel to Nowlan Park for a second round tussle with Kilkenny.
With a new look to their panel at the moment, there is a sense that Micheal Donoghue’s men will have to go through some short-term pain before potentially achieving a long-term gain.
The Clarinbridge native did win an NHL title in his first spell as manager, but 10bet rate the prospect of them doing so again as only a 12/1 possibility.
It is thanks to second half goals from John Fleming and Declan McLoughlin that Galway are marginally in front of Wexford on score difference towards the foot of the table.
Considering the likes of Conor McDonald, Jack O’Connor and Lee Chin are currently marked absent – and they have lost Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Matthew O’Hanlon and Liam Og McGovern to retirement – it is perhaps unsurprising that Wexford were second best to Cork last weekend.
Keith Rossiter’s charges will be doing well to avoid relegation to NHL Division 1B for 2026.
With several GAA betting sites rating their chances of winning the top tier of the league this year at 100/1, survival rather than a title charge will likely be the main focus for the Slaneysiders in the next couple of months.