The world of soccer since the advent of Sky Sports is a very different environment to that which existed back in the seventies and eighties, and though some of the changes, such as the obsession with club finances and the lack of physical contact, may not appeal to everyone, no-one can argue that the games suffer from a lack of exposure or promotion. Indeed such has been the complete absorption of the media into the sport (or the sport into the media?) that it can be difficult to escape the constant barrage of team news and indeed player scandal, even when one has no interest in any of their affairs.

Though the GAA has evolved in the last few decades as well, most would say that the changes brought about have been largely for the better and introduced gradually, causing no real shock to the system. However one aspect where the administrators really need to take a look at themselves is in the area of marketing.

At no time of the year is this more obvious than now, when two of the best competitions from a viewing perspective are about to slip into gear – the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups. In no other sport would a competition of this stature, featuring a mix of many of the big stars of the day and many more of the big stars of the future, be brushed under the carpet. Indeed at times, it can be difficult to even find out where the games are on, such is the lack of promotion.

Thankfully, there are betting odds available for the Sigerson at least and thus the opportunity exists to have a good thorough look and see what value might lurk out there.

Heading the market at 7/2 are University of Ulster Jordanstown, followed by DCU at 4/1. This looks reasonably correct as these two sides look to be a good cut above all the other competing colleges. Indeed if the draw had been different but with the same prices, both of these colleges could have been excellent betting material as a combined 11/8 shot – but it’s simply not realistic with the draw the way it is to make such a wager. Both colleges face fiercely difficult local derbies next Wednesday and even if they get through those, tricky assignments await in the quarter final stages as well. Upon beating Queen’s University, UUJ would meet Maynooth and while Maynooth don’t look spectacular on paper, never underestimate the motivation of a team with home advantage in the finals weekend to play for.

DCU, if they overcome UCD, would face an even trickier tie against, in all probability, the holders, Cork IT. All of that is before the two colleges potentially meet each other in the top semi final!

Clearly, whatever value is to be found is lurking on the other side of the draw, where no college is priced below 8/1. The two colleges at that price are UCC, who scraped past DIT last Wednesday, and Garda College. The guards are always dangerous and remain one of the most difficult colleges to assess since their player turnover is so high, but it is that sense of uncertainty that has them priced so short, rather than any other factor. Players like John Miskella will always catch the eye and they won’t be easily beaten, but they would need to spring a lot of surprises to make it to the final weekend.

UCC’s short price is even more mystifying – they scraped past a DIT team that wasn’t nearly as interested in the competition this year as they were last year, and despite Billy Morgan’s influence, they simply don’t have the quality needed to go deep into the contest. They were very poor in 2009 and while home advantage against Galway is very useful, they aren’t good enough to win the whole thing. If they beat NUIG, it will be a statement of how disappointing Galway were as much as anything else.

So clearly, if Garda College and UCC don’t look appealing, for the same reasons their opponents next Wednesday, IT Sligo and NUIG, are well worthy of attention. Both colleges enjoyed decent campaigns in the FBD league, they have a good smattering of county players, and in Galway’s case in particular, they’ve been building up nicely to this point over the past couple of seasons. Of the two, they are the ones with the greater upside. If NUIG can come away from the Mardyke still intact, they should find the quarter final stage very manageable, with neither GMIT nor Dundalk IT looking like anything special this year. Cork’s extra game and home advantage might be their undoing, but if NUIG are as good as this column suspects they might be, they could scrape home and improve immensely from that point onwards.

The wild cards in this half of the draw are, somehwat surprisingly, Athlone IT. UL didn’t pull up any trees against Carlow and Athlone have recruited well in the Winter and would be favoured to eke out a result against them. Raymond Galligan remains a serious threat from corner forward, but it’s the now boys from Offaly, John Reynolds, Brian Connor and Matt Mitchell, as well as Westmeath keeper Gary Connaughton, who have really given the team some oomph. They should beat UL and will give Sligo/the Guards plenty to think about as well. At 40/1, they certainly have a much better chance than several colleges who are half their price or worse.

With the draw the way it is, an each way punt is an absolute necessity. 1pt each way on Athlone IT at 40/1 is more than enough to bet at that kind of price, and we’ll combine that with 1.5pts each way on NUIG at 10/1. Winning this competition might be beyond either of these colleges, but with the each way terms as they are and the possibility for an upset in a one off final, it’s worth taking the chance. Now all the GAA needs is someone to watch what should be the best quality football, outside of the intercounty championships, that will take place all year.

Tags: Athlone IT, NUIG, Sigerson

This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Gaelic Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.