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Totally agree G&T,earn your spot in the div ,both teams finished 2 & 3 in div 2 fs,look at what happened in the div 1 versus div 2 relegation/promotion game last year when Aghagallon had been on the tear most off that week and still won at a canter,that was the true barometer

Poor example.

Aghagllon championship team very different to their league team last year.

Had they all their players available they would have been pushing for winning division 1.

You say they had been on the tear all week but totally ignore the fact Ballymena had not played a competitive game in weeks, maybe months, when they were asked to play a Championship finalist with all the sharpness that brings. And early sending off didn't help either.

But had Ballymena been asked to play a genuine bottom Div 1 team the week after their last league fixture they would have had a really strong chance.

Teams coming up from Div 2 will struggle to break top half but if we look at it the other way round, most teams coming down to Div 2 in recent years have sunk like a stone.

When did Killyclogher win?

What I do notice in Ulster or further on, is the refereeing is totally different to what you are used too (good or bad)

Good prep would be to have games ref'd by the Ulster/national referee's in challenge games leading up to an Ulster run, Cargin have to gamble in that regard and should always be preparing for Ulster, rather than just winning Antrim, that may come across as being arrogant, but the reality is, at the minute, there isn't much to beat in Antrim.

Intercounty referee's are constantly being assessed, those assessments determine whether he gets another game, yellow cards that you wouldn't get in league games with 'normal' ref's will happen in the Ulster games.. 

Yeah I am forever hearing about how our referees in Antrim are too fussy and it does not prepare us for the hard hits etc in Ulster.

I don't see that at all.  Referees in Ulster, if anything, seem to get sucked into giving a lot of soft frees and cards.

Yes, the age profile is high but they also have some fantastic youth.

But the youth are also experiencing championship wins and continually playing Ulster.

And yes they have had a lot of goes without making headway and maybe the aforementioned ageing (combined with much experience) might mean they are at their peak right now and this is as good as it gets.

But hopefully not.

Cargin are at this level, of that there is no doubt.

They have got beaten by a very good team past couple of years and things certainly didn't work in their favour yesterday- rightly or wrongly.

I don't see any imminent challenge for them in Antrim which means they continue to experience Ulster and the experience of being there many years just further plants them in that mix.

Hopefully see them break serious ground very soon - they really are not far away from it.

Anything mental at play when our teams go into Ulster?

Do we give the opposition too much respect?

Was only following Rasharkin on Twitter but seemed to concede 3 quick goals - not many teams will find a way back from that.

Glen very unlucky at All Ireland level last time and Steelstown won the All Ireland intermediate in 2022.

Derry club football doing alright for having weak championships 😂

U19 looks to have been a pretty complete championship unless you have a preference for group stages as well.

But all games from quarter final through seem to have been completed.

Appreciate Dunloy didn't play their minors - would many of them have started? In my head I am thinking if missing more senior players would have been a bigger problem.  But they were well beaten in the semi final.

Maybe the lack of at least one from Dunloy, Cushendall or Loughgeil in the final is what devalues the competition in the eyes of some? 

Can't be a competition if one of them didn't win😂

Don't remember anyone saying Dunloy would win or have much of a chance on Sunday.

I also think what people liked about them was that they were so direct when they attacked.

They were a counter attacking team for sure but very direct when they turned the ball over.

But it is also true that worked against weaker teams than Cargin who simply didn't leave them as much space to run into despite being a man down.

As for an open championship. Maybe open in terms of chances of getting to a final, and that certainly proved to be the case, but we are seriously short of strong teams right now!

As for Cargin, they have been comfortably on top in Antrim for a long time now and hard to see who is going to stop them winning more titles, even if they don't manage it every year.

But they genuinely need to start making inroads in Ulster to be considered elite.

I reckon if Ballymena had of stuck with Scotchie Hagan theyd've been in div 1 now and an intermediate title under their belt.

PS - An outsider and not FOC but wouldn't have been as much.

They have a good young team. Unlucky probably with injuries this year. Glenravel up and I can't see Dunloy or St Endas dropping to intermediate? Leaves intermediate fairly open for a team like Ballymena to take advantage of. Rumours Moneyglass are losing a lot of players to travel

Yes Moneyglass rumours are true
Also heard that relegation is scrapped and Glenravel are making it a 14 team league.
Only hearsay mind you.

More chat along the lines of 4 divisions of 8 rather than 14 team div 1

Haha, here we go again.

I think there is and has been a lot of dead wood in division 1 since around or before the Covid nonsense and the associated lack of relegation.

If they want to sort it out do it next year and make a league after the split containing the top 4 in Div 2 and the bottom 4 in Div 1 and decide how many stay in Div 1 from that mini league.

As for predictions.

Senior - Cargin.  Dunloy are very dangerous with space to run into but I don't think Cargin will allow this to happen and will be interested to see if or how quickly the referee produces cards for cynical fouling.  But beyond that Cargin have more depth to come through ok.

Intermediate - Glenravel.  Possibly the hardest of the three games to predict and could also be the hardest watch given Bakers love for the blanket defence.  But Glenravel came out on top in last years championship meeting and this years decisive league encounter so I think they have what it takes to beat the blanket.

Junior - Rasharkin.  O'Ds have been clear second best at Junior/Div 3 this year though they did record a win at Dreen. However Rasharkin were coasting to the title at that stage and was more a blip than a pointer for this one.  Rasharkin will not have it all their own way as O'Ds do have some solid performers but I expect a comfortable enough final outcome.

Caveat - all are championship finals so still an element of how teams arrive on the day and how quickly they settle into it.

Double headers are fantastic. Granted the rain expected probably puts the thought to bed. Im sure if either Cargin or Dunloy were in the final it would happen. The IFC is a double header on Saturday with the minor B as All Saints are involved in both

Two pitches at that venue though so even with the adverse rain one pitch will not be getting tramped before the adult final is played on it.

I expect Cargin to come out on top but they won't have it all their own way.

The Dunloy championship team is a top half Div 1 team so no surprise to see them at this stage. 

In fact I was looking forward to seeing them play senior championship as I suspected they would leave a few bloody noses.

As said by others, no way is the occasion getting to these lads, they are stacked with players who have graced bigger occasions than the Cargin boys.

But Cargin just have more depth of footballing talent/experience and I expect that to be the difference.  And expect fouls any time Dunloy turn the ball over within their own 45.

Won't mind being wrong though.

With all teams in both leagues played 17 games, We'd be currently 7th, which is a fair reflection of where we are as a team these last few years, transition has been very slow, and while there are green shoots here and there, watching us play we are still very naive, was great to see some of the boys roving up and down the pitch last night, but that experience has allowed the team to stay up and gain some more experience.

Burnsy should/could be on the call up for Antrim next year, he's improving all the time

Is that not a bit creative given youse have played more games against the weaker teams than the like of Creggan and Ahoghill?

Though I see you have the head to head with Creggan factored in 😀

Not a top Div 1 team/squad I would say.

Fair few teams in the lower reaches whom losing a few county players and possibly a few more to U20 for a chunk could seriously dent what they field.

But on the flip if teams they are playing are similarly handicapped then maybe some balance exists.

Anyway, it's not something that is going to go away and this year is not unique in terms of impact.