5 February 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Treaty Star Can’t See Past A Limerick Win – All-Ireland winner Shane Dowling takes a look at the action in the National Hurling League Division One this weekend
The Na Piarsaigh man spoke exclusively to BoyleSports’ Leon Blanche this week and thinks Cork will be too strong for Clare but fancies The Banner to meet the handicap of +4 and thinks Limerick will be too good for Wexford.
He said: “I got to see Clare play Limerick in a final recently and I was disappointed with Clare. Limerick had a lot of young players who were exceptional, but Clare had most of their regular players who have a number of years under their belt. They weren’t impressive on home turf.
“On the other hand with Cork, it’s very hard to know what they have done. If you were to go by the form, then you could say Cork haven’t played and Clare were poor but I think the fact that Clare have a couple of games under their belt would give them a small chance at 5/2. Cork will be hurting from the All-Ireland SHC final, and they will want to get the show on the road.
“It’s difficult when we haven’t seen Cork, so we don’t know what they have done. I’d imagine they haven’t done a whole pile the fact they were away. I’m kind of half contradicting myself here as I was disappointed with Clare, but they might have more work done and I think they will be ahead of Cork. I think Cork will win but Clare should be able to cover the spread of +4 points at 10/11.
Limerick v Wexford
“This is the first game for both teams in the league and I suppose if you look back to last month Dublin gave Wexford a hiding which was surprising whereas Limerick have been very impressive in their couple of games so far albeit with a lot of new players which is great to see. Wexford Park; the one thing I would say about there is that the conditions can be nuts. Playing against the breeze down there is very hard so you would think Wexford have a home advantage. In saying that, I can’t see anything other than a Limerick win.
Dublin v Waterford
“The fact that Liam Cahill stuck with Waterford and bypassed his beloved Tipperary would of given a great sense of confidence to all the players and everyone down there. I have been disappointed with Dublin over the past couple of years. They are a great team on paper but just haven’t performed with the capability that I think they are capable of. In saying that, they got their year off to a great start.
“Waterford, if you look at their form they went down to Clare and were beaten and then Limerick went on to beat Clare comprehensively enough. I don’t know what stage of the year they are at but I’d imagine Kilkenny and Dublin would want to hit the ground running whereas Waterford definitely have the All-Ireland on their minds. Dublin have the home advantage and have been going very well and Waterford minus a couple of players, I think Dublin at 6/5 are a very good price.
Boylesports Odds
Cork v Clare ~ Match Betting
2-5 Cork
5-2 Clare
9 Draw
Wexford v Limerick ~ Match Betting
1-7 Limerick
11-2 Wexford
14 Draw
Dublin v Waterford ~ Match Betting
10-11 Waterford
6-5 Dublin
8 Draw
