Early statistics support theory that league is GAA’s best competition 

Isn’t it great to have it back?

It’s hard to read too much into the first round of the Allianz Football League, but given the congested nature of the schedule with the introduction of the split season, it may be more instructive than usual as to what to expect in three or four months’ time when the championship gets underway.

That said, cast your mind back twelve months to the end of January last year, and Paddy Carr’s Donegal had just beaten reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry in Ballybofey. How their year panned out after that tells its own story.

So, tentatively, what can we read into the first round of the leagues over the weekend?

Mayo’s tussle with Galway is more comprehensively analysed elsewhere in these pages, but Kevin McStay and co have reason to be very satisfied with their afternoon’s work in Salthill, even if Galway were well below par.

Elsewhere, there was a lot to like about some of the other teams in Division One over the weekend.

Austin Stack Park in Tralee was the venue for Derry’s clash with Kerry, with the visitors emerging with a one-point victory. It was probably a deserved result for Mickey Harte’s charges and a more important game for them to win, given they lost to Kerry in last summer’s All-Ireland semi-final and they travelled south with almost a full deck, including their Glen protagonists.

Derry don’t appear to have any major change in style – but they still have all the raw attributes necessary to launch a proper tilt at All-Ireland glory this term. Defensively sound – although they conceded a dreadful goal when they coughed up possession with their goalkeeper out the field – and attacking with a threat, their score building was very slick, especially given the conditions. Importantly, they scored the first point after both of the Kerry goals, which is evidence again of their resilience.

The little tweaks Harte and Gavin Devlin make to the Derry team will be interesting but on all evidence provided on Saturday, they’ve everything needed to be there at the business end in July.

Kerry will be irked by losing to Ulster opposition, particularly on home turf, but given they were without the Cliffords and probably further behind in their training than other counties, they won’t get too angsty. But Jack O’Connor will sleep a little easier if they get a pair of points of from this weekend’s trip to Clones.

Speaking of Monaghan, how about their result in Croke Park on Saturday? Granted, Dublin are further behind in their preparation than others too and are without some key bodies, but Monaghan’s vigour and enthusiasm was really impressive. Stephen O’Hanlon was hugely influential in last season’s league and again on Saturday, he brought the game to Dublin with his all-action display and his thunderbolt of a goal will take some beating when the awards are handed out later this year. Ciaran McNulty, a new name to many, showed there’s a pool of talent within the county too that means, maybe, column inches dedicated to their impending demise may be somewhat premature.

At Healy Park, Tyrone got the job done against Roscommon, with Darragh Canavan showing all his class throughout for the hosts.

Outside of the top tier, there’s one county everyone will have their eye on: Donegal. The way in which they dispatched the challenge of Cork, who have been on the rise and won the McGrath Cup earlier this month, should come as a warning sign to other counties. Jim McGuinness is back – and so are Donegal.

I wrote last week of my hopes for Sligo to come away from Ennis with a priceless two points in Division Three but, in agonising fashion, they left with none. This is a defeat that will sting for Tony McEntee and his players, having hit the front as the game entered the closing stages and also having had Aidan Devaney save a penalty moments later too. But, down to thirteen players after red cards for both Luke Towey and Paul Kilcoyne, it was just a bridge too far despite a superb effort even with that numerical disadvantage.

It’s hardly a death knell for the campaign – but it certainly leaves Sligo with an uphill task. It would have been a much easier journey back up the road with even a point. It will be a division of narrow margins and Sligo just need to finish on the right side of one or two of those results in the coming weeks to make sure they’re in the mix at the right end of the table. Next Sunday’s clash with Wicklow in Markievicz Park is a must-win.

In an overall sense, much of the debate since the conclusion of last year’s championship has been about Gaelic Football’s problems. Too defensive, too risk-averse, not enough excitement. Yet the weekend’s fare has provided some evidence that all is not unwell with the game. In Division One in particular, there were loads of positives.

Monaghan and Derry took the headlines on Saturday night in two compelling matches but they did so in a manner which provided plenty of excitement. Monaghan crashed in three goals in Croke Park and some of Derry’s attacking play, in particular, was a joy to watch.

Roscommon managed to give Tyrone plenty to think about at Healy Park in Omagh, where Donie Smith’s goal lit up the first-half and I thought the Galway-Mayo clash in Salthill provided plenty of spark, particularly in the second-half when both teams were guilty of errors but that added to the sense of excitement as two old rivals went toe to toe.

The idea that the league is the best competition, in an overall sense, is further enhanced when you look at the winning margins of the weekend. Of the sixteen games played across the four tiers, the average winning margin was four points – and that’s including landslide victories for Donegal (11 points) and Leitrim (15 points). Take those out and it’s just 2.7 points. There were four one-point wins and one draw in the sixteen matches.

Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the negative analysis but this weekend emphasised that all is not bad in the world of Gaelic Football.

Roll on next weekend!