Opportunity beckons for Ballinamere but knocking K-K off their pedestal is far easier said than done

ONE of the most eagerly anticipated Offaly Senior Hurling Championships in recent years will commence this weekend when ten clubs aim to fulfil their dreams and ambitions.

The emerging rivalry between champions Kilcormac-Killoughey and an exciting young Ballinamere team is a big ingredient in this sense of excitement. And the presence of other clubs capable of upsetting all predictions pours more petrol on a blazing fire.

Kilcormac-Killoughey are very much the favourites as they seek three in a row. With some of the most exciting young hurlers in Offaly in their ranks, a seemingly unending conveyor belt of talent, this huge parish is on the cusp of an era of great dominance.

Beaten by Dublin's Na Fianna in the Leinster club senior hurling final last year, they have many of the ingredients required to challenge for provincial and All-Ireland honours in the coming years.

Those ambitions will have to enter K-K's thinking but they won't be looking beyond Offaly for one second and with Ballinamere having pushed them to the wire in last year's final, they will be under no illusions about the danger in their own county.

After making an important step forward by reaching the Leinster final last year, K-K attracted headlines and attention when they got rid of their manager Shane Hand. The appointment of a very good manager with a proven track record in Tipperary man Declan Laffan took the heat out of that and it certainly won't be an issue within the camp though it remains part of the back story in this year's campaign – and there is an element of pressure on K-K because of it, though that would be present anyway as they bid for a second three in a row.

An understrength K-K demonstrated the depth in strength at their disposal when winning the Division 1 Hurling League recently, defeating Shinrone in the final. They were down a handful of automatic first team players, four of their main stars in Cillian Kiely, Charlie Mitchell, Ter Guinan and Adam Screeney while another very important player Leigh Kavanagh was also out.

Kavanagh, Kiely, Mitchell, Guinan and Screeney are all set to miss early action, while Oisin Mahon and Enda Grogan could also be out for the first round and it will be some time before they are fielding a full strength team. With players of this magnitude out, K-K should be vulnerable in the group but it would still be a massive shock if they don't come out.

Having said that, they have to be careful. They are in group 2 along with St Rynagh's, Shinrone, Kinnitty and Belmont and this is no formality. Shinrone and St Rynagh's have designs on winning the championship while Belmont have been fiercely competitive in this decade, though they endured a disappointing 2024 and are at a cross-roads.

It is a big year for Ballinamere. They have made steady, incremental progress in recent years and broke down a crucial barrier when reaching the final last year. They have emerged as K-K's most serious contenders and there is a great opportunity for them to win a first ever title. With seven of the Offaly senior hurling squad, Mark Troy, Ciaran Burke, Ross Ravenhill, Dan Bourke, Brian Duignan, Dan Ravenhill and Sam Bourke – Jack Fogarty was also on the panel or extended panel this year - at their disposal, they have a serious team.

Burke, Dan Bourke, Duignan and Dan Ravenhill are among Offaly's best county players while Troy is an excellent goalkeeper, Ross Ravenhill is one of the players who has reached the physicality he needs, a model of consistency who does a mountain of work and Sam Bourke is a huge player for Ballinamere – his defensive deliveries and ability to score long range points is a great asset. Fogarty is a very consistent performer, a man who generally does his job on the half back line.

This group means that Ballinamere have a terrific chance this year but it all comes with a lot of expectation and pressure. Their age profile is possibly better than K-K's at the moment – the champions have outstanding young players with plenty of physical developing to do and they have a cohort of highly influential, proven older players but the likes of Damian Kilmartin, Conor Mahon and James Gorman are now in the winter of their careers, in bonus territory, and they won't be able to stay going forever.

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Group 1 consists of Ballinamere, Coolderry, Birr, Seir Kieran and Tullamore with the top team in each group going into the semi-finals and 2^nd and 3^rd criss-crossing in two quarter-finals.

It is a good format and there will be plenty of interest in the group stages – there are repercussions for losing and there is always the potential for shocks.

You can divide the teams into three, if not four, tiers of contenders. K-K and Ballinamere are the top tier, the teams to beat. The second tier is Shinrone, St Rynagh's, Birr, Coolderry and Belmont – and you can make a case for separating Shinrone and St Rynagh's as their championship winning prospects look to be better than the others.

However, this five all have some sort of chance, though Belmont ended up in a relegation play off last year and we will have to see how they recover.

The bottom tier is Seir Kieran, Tullamore and Kinnitty, the three main contenders for relegation – there was no relegation the last two years as the bottom team got a reprieve because of Kilcormac-Killoughey winning senior B but that won't keep happening.

Seir Kieran and Tullamore are in group 1 and will be hoping to surprise one of the top teams and sneak into a quarter-final. The disposed 2024 K-K manager Shane Hand is at the helm in Tullamore and there will be a surprise at some stage this year.

Kinnitty added a touch of romance to last year's campaign with some excellent group performances, though they just missed out on a quarter-final place. Their star player Paddy Delaney has gone to Australia but again, they will be hoping to make their mark.

It is possible that one of Seir Kieran, Tullamore and Kinnitty will make a quarter-final but we can say with confidence that the county champions will not come out this trio.

Shinrone are probably third favourites. They have a generally young team and are hungry to add to their 2023 final. They have a point to prove after last year and they look to be the best poised to take advantage if K-K or Ballinamere don't win.

St Rynagh's have a chance but the jury is very much out on them. They are not the same powerful, relentless force of a few years ago and some key players are heading down the wrong side of the hill but they still command complete respect and can't be written off.

Birr and Coolderry are Offaly hurling's two most successful clubs but are in transition period. They both have plenty of good hurlers and could ignite but they would be coming up on the rails to win – Coolderry did reach the semi-final last year but were blown out of the water by K-K.

As things stand, you would expect Ballinamere, Birr and Coolderry to emerge from group 1, Kilcormac-Killoughey, Shinrone and St Rynagh's to make it out of group 2.

It will be a surprise, however, if one of those doesn't make it and that is a big part of the championship attraction.

The window of opportunity could be a small one for Ballinamere. They should be very competitive for a few years but they have a limited pool of emerging talent and will find it hard to replace their few older players when they inevitably dip into the red. While K-K have players at the tail-end of their careers, they have loads of outstanding young players coming of age. The Adam Screeney's, Brecon Kavanagh's, Ter Guinan's, Daniel Hand's et-al will get stronger and K-K will get harder and harder to beat in the coming years.

Now is Ballinamere's time but that doesn't mean it will happen for them. It is easy to say that they have the players to beat K-K – they do but it has to be done and that is a huge task. This group of Ballinamere players deserve to win a title and it would be good for Offaly hurling. They are a great example of what can be achieved and the work the likes of Ross Ravenhill and Brian Duignan have done to get into peak shape is inspirational for younger people.

They do have to be wary in the group and like K-K are missing key players early on. Dan Ravenhill will miss the first two games anyway after getting a knee operation, John Murphy is in Australia and Kevin McDermott isn't hurling this year: McDermott had an excellent group campaign last year and he is a big loss, even if his form dipped a bit in the knockout stages, and Ballinamere just don't have the same reserves as K-K to cushion the absence of key players. Making no mistakes in getting out of the group is the first priority for Ballinamere and they have a testing opener with Coolderry while Tullamore is a local derby and they have to be fully tuned in for them – Tullamore have opted for O'Brien Park rather than O'Connor Park for their home game in round 2, feeling they have a better chance of an upset there.

Ballinamere want it so badly, it could happen for them and a title for them would be very good for Offaly hurling. You can't argue with the people who insist it should happen for Ballinamere but K-K remain favourites and it is hard to get away from the impression that K-K will find a way to win the big games in Offaly – they also have much greater depth in strength to cope with injuries, the loss of any of their seven county men could prove fatal for Ballinamere and it is hard to go through a campaign without some things going wrong.

Verdict – Kilcormac-Killoughey.

Round 1 games

Group 1

Seir Kieran v Birr: Friday, July 11 in Clareen 7pm - Verdict – Birr.

Ballinamere v Coolderry: Saturday, July 12 in Ballinamere 3.30pm Verdict – Ballinamere.

Group 2

Belmont v Kilcormac-Killoughey: Saturday, July 12 in Moystown 1.30pm Verdict – Kilcormac-Killoughey.

Shinrone v St Rynagh's: Sunday, July 13 in Shinrone 5pm Verdict – Shinrone.