Shamrock Bowl Conference
Belfast Trojans vs. Dublin Dragons
I’ve never had to write this whilst covering the Irish Leagues for Double Coverage, but the Belfast Trojans will be attempting to bounce back from a loss last time out. That loss to Trinity was the first loss for quite a few members of the Trojan outfit and they will be desperate to prove a point to the League in this match-up.
That could spell lots of trouble to the Dublin Dragons. The team haven’t been bad this year. They’ve only picked up a lone win but they have shown ability on offence and tenacity on defence. They have laid the foundations for a secure future in the division.
Look for the Belfast Trojans to lay down a statement here though. They will still be amongst the favourites to win the Shamrock Bowl and with a shutdown defence and an offence that can score points from almost anywhere, it is understandable why they are favourites.
Trinity College Dublin vs. North Kildare Reapers
Trinity remain undefeated this year and have put in some superb performances in all phases of the game. The 18-0 win over Belfast underlines their ability to go all the way this year.
Dan Finnamore and Rob McDowell have lit up the Scoring Charts this year and top the passing and rushing charts respectively, whilst the defence has conceded the third least points in the entire Shamrock Bowl Conference.
The North Kildare Reapers have had an excellent first year in the Shamrock Bowl Conference. They missed out on the chance to secure at least a .500 record last time out as they suffered a disappointing loss to the West Dublin Rhinos. But let’s remember that the Rhinos are steeped in experience and the Reapers are in their rookie SBC year. They still have a good shot at reaching the playoffs, and that would be some achievement! But they have a tough run in to end the regular season, starting with TCD.
IAFL-1
Mullingar Minotaurs vs. Cork Admirals
This is an intriguing match-up. With the IAFL-1 proving itself to be as unpredictable as it was last year, there have been upsets all along the way.
Mullingar lost to UCD last time out, whereas the Admirals beat the same team in their last game. That tells a lot about where this game would go on paper, but as is repeatedly stated, the game is not played on paper.
The Minotaurs have a strong rushing game that could test the Cork outfit but the Admirals’ offence has talent and potential in abundance. Mullingar have a tendency to repeatedly stack the box on defence, and that could play straight into Cork’s hands.
IAFL-2
South Kildare Soldiers vs. Tyrone Titans
The Titans make the long journey south to face the Soldiers as the only undefeated team left in the IAFL-2.
The home team have scored just 8 points in their two games, whilst the away side have put up 56 in the same number of match-ups, signalling that the Tyrone outfit more than likely hold the upper hand in this game.
But the IAFL-2 is focussed squarely on the development of these teams and the result does not matter so much as the experience the players and coaches will gain from this. Both clubs have strong foundations to build on and a solid future in the sport if they continue to do so.
This article has been syndicated from Double Coverage and any opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinion of IAFA. Any references to non-IAFA websites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those websites.