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July 12, 2007
Sixteen teams gone, fifteen more to go before we know the winner of the All Ireland football championship this year. So far in this column we've been tipping weekly matches, but at this halfway juncture when every team has played at least two games and has form on the board, we thought we'd step back and recommend a couple of antepost wagers to keep you all interested between now and the end of the year. First and foremost - who will win? The shortlist is fairly obvious - Tyrone, Kerry and Dublin look likely to come through the front door, while Derry, Donegal, Mayo and Cork all look dangerous through the back. Galway may have burst on to the scene well with their opening round win over Mayo, but realistically an All Ireland standard team would not have lost that match to Sligo, while Laois will need to score 18 points to win a game some day and it's hard to see where they'll get that from. We could analyse those seven teams all day, but in truth Tyrone have proven that they are capable of going all the way and the standard of their play in their of their demolition of Donegal was right up there with the best they've ever produced. At 9/4 they represent good value to continue their record of winning every second year since 2003. With Stephen O'Neill still to come back in and possibly even Brian McGuigan as well they have every reason to believe they can match 2005 when they comfortably beat Kerry in the final. Kerry did exorcise a few "Ulster" ghosts with their demolition of Armagh last year, but we saw last weekend how far Armagh have regressed and one still wonders how the 2006 championship would have panned out had Tyrone not been decimated with injuries early on and instead been around to meet Kerry in the latter stages. Secondly, we're going to recommend a top scorer bet - John Doyle at 12/1. This may come as a surprise in that not many people will expect Kildare to go a long way, but they are very capable of reaching the quarter finals, which would give them three more matches. The Allenwood marksman has fifteen points to his name already, and could easily have as many as forty if they get that far, not including replays/extra time. He is unquestionably one of the top forwards in Ireland, and while James Masters is a worthy favourite at even money with Ladbrokes right now, he tends not to score as heavily against better teams, and if Cork fall before the semi finals his current tally of 27 might fall short of the magical 40 that will be needed. Certainly at the prices involved we'd much prefer to be with Doyle at 12/1 than Masters at even money. Finally, one bet for this week. Donegal have been labouring through the championship so far, stumbling and stumbling, waiting for the knockout punch. Westmeath might not look like heavyweights, but they like the qualifiers and took Galway out last year. They can do the same to Donegal on their home turf this Saturday night. Expect a fiery home crowd and Dessie Dolan controlling the show, with Ladbrokes 7/4 an excellent price about the home side to take the spoils. TO PLACE YOUR BETS, CLICK HERE NOW LADBROKES

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