GAA Betting: Donegal Are National Football League Favourites Again
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Following another gripping weekend of action, the odds for the National Football League are tight at the top with betting sites.
Beginning at MacHale Park in Castlebar last Saturday afternoon, Mayo took on Kerry in a compelling NFL Division One clash that went right down to the wire.
The Kingdom had recovered from a heavy deficit to eventually lead deep into the second half before Mayo ultimately prevailed on a score of 0-21 to 1-16 thanks to late points from Ryan O’Donoghue and Matthew Ruane.
Later that day, Armagh responded to their recent draw with Mayo by earning a 1-20 to 1-12 victory against Dublin on their home patch of the Athletic Grounds.
Their Sky Blue counterparts did recover from a 14-point deficit to trail by just five inside the final quarter, but with Conor Turbitt registering 0-6 to supplement a goal from his Clann Eireann club-mate Barry McCambridge, the Orchard County secured the two points on offer.
Galway And Donegal Fight Back To Earn Positive Results
Having come into the game as the only remaining unbeaten side in Division One, Galway looked set to finally suffer their first reversal of 2025 when trailing Tyrone by two points on Sunday.
Yet, this was the cue for Shane Walsh to kick a two-point free to add to his personal tally of 1-5 to ensure the Tribesmen were level with the Red Hand at 1-18 apiece at the final whistle.
Galway had gotten the better of Donegal a week earlier and the O’Donnell County trailed Derry for large stages of their top-tier showdown.
Jim McGuinness’ charges posted 1-6 without reply in the closing stages (the goal coming from Shane O’Donnell) to give them an impressive 1-22 to 1-19 triumph in the end.
Heading into the sixth round of fixtures on St Patrick’s weekend (March 15-16), 2024 champions Derry and Tyrone are currently the only teams officially out of contention for an NFL Division One title.
From the remaining sextet of contenders, some are seen as having a greater chance of success, and we will explore below exactly what odds are being offered on each side for the 2025 league crown.
Donegal Favourites For NFL Crown
After previously being installed as NFL favourites in advance of their fourth-round visit to Galway, Donegal found themselves slipping down the pecking order.
Results in a given weekend can affect how betting apps view things, however, and the Ulster county are once again seen as the most likely victors in this year’s league.
With eight points to their name ahead of Tyrone’s trip to O’Donnell Park, Donegal are presently second place behind Galway in the NFL Division One table on both score difference and head-to-head record.
McGuinness’ men have impressed aside from that one blip against the Tribesmen, and are rated as 13/8 favourites for a football league final success by Boylesports.
Galway Still Very Much In The Mix
The same bookmaker aren’t as strong on Galway for a first NFL title since 1981 but are nevertheless taking them very seriously as a contender for the crown.
Although the Westerners let a significant cushion slip from their grasp in a round three draw with Derry, they showed plenty of character to claim a share of the spoils against Tyrone.
Shane Walsh appears to be playing with real confidence under the new rules for Gaelic football and has an outstanding scoring haul of 1-37 to date in 2025.
At 15/8, Galway are still one of the more enticing bets for NFL glory.
Given both teams are at least two points clear of everyone else in the division with just two games remaining, it is easy to see why Galway and Donegal are the current front-runners to make the top-tier final at the end of the month.
Dublin In Contention Despite Recent Set-Back
That said, Dublin are just two adrift of the top two in third place and are due to face Galway at Croke Park on Saturday week (March 15).
They will need to bounce back from their eight-point defeat against Armagh, but the return of Cormac Costello last weekend was a welcome sign for Dublin boss Dessie Farrell.
With the likes of Con O’Callaghan, Ciaran Kilkenny and Niall Scully also around, there are still plenty of forwards within the Metropolitan outfit’s ranks who have earned multiple All-Ireland titles.
Coming into the penultimate round of the regular phase of the competition, Dublin are rated at 3/1with GAA betting sites to win this year’s National Football League.
Going by how it all stands at the moment, it seems likely that the two finalists for 2025 will come from the three teams mentioned above – even if stranger things have happened.
Mayo And Armagh Are An Outside Bet
After falling to consecutive losses at the hands of Dublin and Galway, Mayo seemed to be heading for a relegation scrap.
While they are still only as high as fifth, Kevin McStay’s green and red have picked up their form in recent weeks – recording two wins and one draw from their last three games.
The gradual return of some key players has significantly bolstered their prospects, and a victory against basement side Derry on Sunday could see them move even further up the table.
It would be remarkable if they made it to a league final in the coming weeks, but at 33/1, it seems unlikely.
Despite being in front of them on score difference, Armagh are level with Mayo in the National Football League odds.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the form of the Orchard County has been somewhat mixed, coming off the back of their successful All-Ireland campaign of 2025.
Nonetheless, their performance against Dublin in the Athletic Grounds last weekend was excellent for the most part and – if other results also go their way – they could move up from their current position of fourth with a victory over Kerry at Austin Stack Park in Tralee on March 15.
Kerry Not Seen As Major Contenders
They might be the most successful county in this competition with 23 titles, but Kerry will go into their final round games with Armagh and Galway potentially needing at least one win to retain their Division One status for 2025.
Additionally, both Galway and Donegal require just one point from their final two games to be guaranteed of finishing above the Kingdom in the top-tier standings.
This explains why Jack O’Connor’s side are seen as rank outsiders for an NFL crown at 50/1.