Sport

Donegal merit inclusion in the list of contenders for Dublin's crown

Donegal's Michael Murphy exchanges words with Sean Cavanagh of Tyrone during their AFL match at Ballybofey. Picture by bMargaret McLaughlin.
Donegal's Michael Murphy exchanges words with Sean Cavanagh of Tyrone during their AFL match at Ballybofey. Picture by bMargaret McLaughlin. Donegal's Michael Murphy exchanges words with Sean Cavanagh of Tyrone during their AFL match at Ballybofey. Picture by bMargaret McLaughlin.

The Allianz Football League moves into the final two games and right across the divisions everything appears up for grabs.

In Division One the welcome removal of the semi-finals means it is a straight shoot-out for the League final spots.

One almost assumes that Dublin will make it to the final.

They play Roscommon this weekend in Croke which should be a foregone conclusion and whilst Monaghan could put it up to them in the final round they appear to have a pathological hunger to preserve their unbeaten record.

Their mental fortitude and ability to get results is something that I have not seen in my lifetime.

In saying this, Dublin’s three draws may come against them as Monaghan, Donegal, Tyrone and to a lesser degree Kerry, all have the potential to finish ahead of them.

Ironically this raises the possibility of them losing their league title without ever being defeated!

All things being equal one would still be surprised if they don’t make it to the final.

Donegal are probably the surprise packets of Division One.

Given the bus-load of quality players Rory Gallagher had to wave goodbye to earlier in the year they were widely expected to really struggle and the first-round defeat to Kerry was quickly used as confirmation of all these theories.

Their sharp defeat of Tyrone last week will have made many sit up and take notice especially their opponents on the night.

Tyrone took several years where the theme was largely about a young team needing time to get up to the top level.

Donegal were forced into a much more rapid transition and on the evidence of last week have the potential to be serious challengers.

Of all the teams vying for the League final, with the exception of Monaghan, it would be great for Donegal’s development to make it to the league final.

It has been a popular theme that Tyrone could be Dublin's big challengers due to their defensive system and their speed and athleticism.

If this is true, then it is hard not to feel Donegal merit inclusion in these same conversations.

The counter argument is that their best performances to date against Tyrone and Dublin have both been in Ballybofey and in atrocious conditions.

A final berth on the firm sod of Croke park could tell us a lot.

Monaghan have gone about their business in typical low-key style.

They have, like Donegal appeared to pull off a pretty rapid transition with minimal fuss.

In Jack McCarron they have probably the most in form forward in Ulster and being able to partner him with Conor McManus they will carry a threat greater than any other Ulster side.

They continue to have a formidable defence and have added a few dogs of war in Gavin Doogan, Kieran Duffy and Dessie Ward and overall the package looks stronger than a few years ago. Malachy O’Rourke obviously sees this as he went against conventional opinion and decided to stick with the Farney men when many thought he had already wrought the most out of them.

Cavan could still survive if Mayo continue their struggles but they are favourite to be the team relegated with Roscommon.

They can take good heart from a campaign that has seen Mattie McGleenon trying to put his stamp on the team in the harsh division 1 environment.

If they can continue from their immense performance last week against Mayo then they will be happy with the progress made, relegated or not.

In Division Two it appears a certainty that one, if not two, of the Ulster trio of Fermanagh, Down and Derry are for the drop.

This would be hugely disappointing for any of them as they would all view themselves as good enough to stay in Division Two.

Given the fact that it is Cork who are the other team that may go down it shows how competitive that division is.

The final round game of Fermanagh v Derry will be a huge clash and Damien Barton will be hoping the returning Slaughtneil contingent can have as big a say for their county as they have had for their club.

In Division Three, Armagh will be determined to make the prompt return to the higher division and certainly as the highest-scoring team in the country at present they will not be short of confidence.

With the two leaders, Tipperary and Louth, playing this weekend and playing Tipperary in their final game at home it is in Armagh’s own hands to complete the job.

Antrim on the other hand will be keen to avoid the drop and keep Division Four an Ulster-free zone.

It could well come down to a big home performance against Longford in the final game to spare them the drop.

The level of competition and closeness of results across the divisions is testament to the great competition the AFL has become.

Will there be as many unknowns or competitive matches when we head into the early rounds of the championship and qualifiers?

I’m afraid not.

We may enjoy the Leagues while they're still here.