Editor / 05 February 2009 Free Bet

It's the first day back at school for the hurlers of the nation but there were the usual pre-season tournaments to take care of first, and there was a game played in the not-exactly-salubrious surroundings of Freshford last Sunday that could prove rather informative.

Galway went 8 points up early in the second half of the Walsh Cup final last weekend against a Kilkenny team who have won the last 3 All-Ireland titles and who were just back in the country after their by now yearly celebratory holiday abroad.

Around then would have seemed like a good time to lie down, take their beating in what is essentially a meaningless game, and re-group for the league. But Kilkenny clawed their way back into the game, point by point and ended up winning it in extra time.

Why? Because they hate to lose. They have a pathological loathing for defeat. And Brian Cody doesn't allow it; being beaten. If Galway and their new manager John McIntyre didn't know the scale of the task in taking on Kilkenny in their home province, they know now.

Everyone now sees their position in the hurling world in relation to Kilkenny and right now, no-one's view is all that appealing. The league opens with another Galway-Kilkenny match-up, this time in Pearse Stadium and while Galway, trading at [2.94] on Betfair, might be a good bet for a win this weekend, not many people are expecting them to come out on top when we really get down to business.

The men from the west are third favourites to win the league outright, available at [7.0] at the moment, but if you're looking for real value (and fancy backing someone other than Kilkenny, just for a change) then I would suggest a few well positioned euros on Clare, who are trading at [17.0] this week and who are motoring well early on this year.

Mike McNamara is in his second year, made qualitative improvement last year and has a big strong team that should revel in the rather wintry conditions we seem destined to have for the next month or so at least.

Cork are the wildcard in all of this of course. The exact ins and outs of the situation down there have been discussed by all and sundry and there's no need to add my voice to the din but it's increasingly hard to see where they will even pick up one point in this league campaign.

Perhaps if the game at home to Dublin had come a little later in the year then they could have targeted that as a possible win but surely they haven't enough done to beat Anthony Daly's new Dubs team. A solution to the saga could mean that their current price of [21.0] might look like good value but however it ends and whenever it ends, 2009 already looks like a write-off for Cork.

Tipperary, at [4.3], might be a bet worth taking given their brilliant start to last year but to see Brian Cody at the official launch of the Allianz League earlier this week was to witness a man whose competitive spirit seems not to have dimmed one iota. And that's a pretty scary thought for hurling folk.