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Shamrock Bowl Conference
Craigavon Cowboys vs. Belfast Trojans
The reigning champions retake the field after their winning start away to Carrickfergus Knights last weekend. Many expected a much greater win than their 13-28 triumph but nothing can be taken away from a solid Knights performance.
The Cowboys welcome their Northern Irish neighbours to Portadown with the hopes of putting in a performance of their own and upsetting the Belfast outfit. Could it be Craigavon, the last team to beat the Trojans way back in 2011, that is the squad to end the unbeaten run?
Doubtful. The Cowboys side have leaped forward this offseason, recruiting hard, developing their youth side and working on and off the field, but it’s just too early for the men in orange to take down their green counterparts.
The Cowboys have had a few guys leave for the Tyrone Titans, including impressive receiver Ryan Brolly, but plenty of talent remains. The Trojans will want to keep close tabs on young quarterback Conor Fearon and the multi-skilled, multi-positioned Peter Loughran, who can damage any team at any time.
Belfast will have the usual names lining up and should have enough in the locker to put plenty of points on the board. They’ll want to show the League that last week was just first game rustiness.
Dublin Rebels vs. UL Vikings
Last year’s Shamrock Bowl finalist Rebels take the field for the first time in 2014 to face off against old rivals, the UL Vikings.
The Vikes themselves will want to shake off a nightmare start as they stuttered to a 34-9 loss to Trinity College on opening day. They’re a new look side but have the vein of experience through the team to help them get over that speed bump and get their season back on the road.
They’re more than capable of taking the game to the Dublin side but the Rebels will be wanting to get off to a perfect start, to show the rest of the League that they’re here to win this year.
With a quarterback like Andrew Dennehy, who has been there and done it all before, a young receiving corps and the highly impressive Simon Mackey, who scored 13 touchdowns in 2013, lining up in the backfield, the Rebels will always be able to put points on the board.
But the Vikings have that capability too. This game could be a cracker if the Vikings bounce back as we know they can.
North Kildare Reapers vs. Waterford Wolves
Another rematch of a rivalry formed in the IAFL-1 last year. The teams both won a match each in the two fixtures they contested in 2013 so this one could go either way.
The Reapers have notably strengthened this year, adding several of the old Tullamore Phoenix players as well as recruiting hard.
Furthermore they have a strong coaching set up, with a lot of Irish League experience in the forms of HC Brendan McAleese and Special Teams Coordinator Kevin Sharkey whilst Coach Kees Groeneveld brings wealth of experience from years as a player in the Netherlands.
Waterford have strengthened too though, and pushed the Dublin Dragons hard last week, but ultimately succumbing to a 6-12 defeat. The Wolfpack will want to get their offence clicking in this game and get some points up. Quarterback Eoin Reinhardt did not finish the match last weekend, coming out with a knock, and it will be critical to get him back to fitness if they’re going to have success moving the ball this year.
This game will be an interesting one, which should show us some indication as to how these two IAFL-1 graduates will fare in the big boy Shamrock Bowl Conference season to come.
IAFL1
UCD vs. Cork Admirals
UCD got off to a flying start last weekend, dominating the Mullingar Minotaurs, and shutting them out, with a 26-0 victory. They’ll be looking to repeat that form in front of their own fans at Belfield against a Cork side that is somewhat of a mystery.
Reforming out of the ashes of the Admirals side that collapsed after one game last year, the Cork team have been quiet in their preseason preparations and online presence. This is eerily similar to last year, we just hope it’s with different results and they manage to solidify and complete the year.
UCD are coming off the back of stellar performances from quarterback David Murphy (3 passing TDs, one rushing TD), wide receiver Paul Geraghty (3 receiving TDs) and linebacker Colin Harper (double digit tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery). But outside of individual stats, it was a solid team performance against the Minotaurs that the team will be looking to repeat again and again in 2014.