With three rounds of the newly-formed group stages of the Galway Senior Football Championship completed, there is still much to play for.
As many people would have expected, group one sees Corofin top, and through to the quarter-finals with one game to play against St James.
Even without the services of Michael Farragher, Conor Cunningham, Daithí Burke, and the returning Boston based trio of Liam Silke, Dylan Wall and Jason Leonard, the current All-Ireland champions easily overcame An Cheathru Rua last weekend by 5-16 to 1-8, with goals from Ciaran Brady, Martin Farragher, Gary Sice, and two from Dylan Canney.
Based on the recent form they have shown, and their strength in depth, it is impossible to rule them out of winning a sixth county title in a row.
Elsewhere in that group, Cortoon Shamrocks are definitely going to be in a fight for relegation after losing their third game of the group this weekend, 1-11 to 0-11 to St James.
Currently any of St James, Claregalway or An Cheathru Rua could still get through, with the "Jimmies" leading the charge with two wins from two.
Annaghdown going well
In group two, Annaghdown, as expected with their strong county contingent, are in control with two wins and a draw, their latest win showing their strength, but also perhaps a concerning dependency on two forwards. Only Damien Comer and Frankie Burke getting on the score sheet with the pair combining for 1-12 in last weekend’s win over Salthill, who surprisingly prop up the group with one point.
After two good performances with draws against Salthill and Annaghdown many would have expected a win for Killanin against Bearna (0-8 to 0-8 ) but they had to settle for a draw in the end, meaning a win is a must against Tuam in their final game.
These group standings must be what was hoped for when the new format was in place with all five teams still able to get through to the quarter finals with two rounds left.
Mountbellew in last eight
Group three shows Mountbellew through to the quarter-finals after a hard-fought 0-10 to 0-8 win over Caherlistrane.
Killererin are showing a good improvement this year, and having drawn with Caherlistrane. they leave themselves in contention in this group having also drawn (1-11 a piece ) with Leitir Mór at the weekend.
Again this is another group in which any team could qualify for the quarter-finals, and any team, bar Mountbellew, face the possibility of relegation with only a point separating Kilconly, Killererin, Leitir Mór and Caherlistrane.
The final group shows Moycullen, Milltown and Monivea all on four points, but Monivea have already played three games and Moycullen and Milltown having only played two.
Milltown and Monivea played out a thriller on Saturday evening with Milltown just getting over the line in the end, winning by one point, 1-15 to 0-17. A huge win for Moycullen over Caltra by 4-15 to 0-5 puts Caltra bottom of their group, having lost all three games and certainly facing a relegation fight with St Michael’s , who are also in trouble having lost both their games so far.
Based on their first two games, Moycullen, with their four county players, David Wynne, Gareth Bradshaw, Peter Cooked and Seán Kelly, have been aided by the return of Galway U20 joint captain Dessie Conneely from America, and they must be worth a shout to go a good distance in this year’s championship.
