After last week’s miserable effort at prediciting the outcomes of all the hurling matches I’m going to put a bit more effort into this one. We have 10 games between Senior, Minor, Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard.

Senior Quarter Finals:
Waterford v Wexford: Waterford weren’t exactly all that impressive in their win over Offaly but I suppose with Eoin Kelly and John Mullane you always feel they can put up a good score. Hard to know where Wexford are but the loss of a few players through injury, particularly Keith Rossiter is a bad blow. They usually have one big game in them a year against the Munster sides but the form does point to Waterford so have to go with them. Verdict: Waterford

Cork v Clare: Just like the other one, it’s not as clear cut as I might have thought a few weeks ago. Back then I would have dismissed Clare and Wexford’s chances but there’s nothing frightening about their opposition now. Of course Cork looked good the last day but can they raise their game again? With the wealth of talent they probably can and they don’t need all their stars to fire at once. Interestingly though Clare’s under 21’s hammered Cork’s the other night and Cork were strong favourites for that. Still you have to go with the form and that’s Cork. Verdict: Cork

Christy Ring Semi Finals:
Wesmeath v Derry: I had been doubting Westmeath after Wicklow beat them in their last group game but they obviously took it easy then. They have proved over the last few years that they’re the top team at this level and that looks set to continue this year. But…. Down would have been one of the teams fancied to challenge them and Derry beat them last weekend and with a few points to spare. Maybe Derry are suddenly hitting top form? They could be but I’m not going to go against Westmeath anymore. Verdict: Westmeath

Mayo v Carlow: Mayo won one and lost one in a close group so wasn’t expecting them to beat Wicklow last week but they duly did. With Pete Finnerty on the line and the excellent dual star Keith Higgins firing over plenty of scores they seem to be well capable of matching it with anyone. Carlow would have been one of the fancies early in the year, they lost to Down in the group but both had qualified by then so it’s hard to base anything on that. They ground out a solid win in a tricky visit to Kerry last week thanks mainly to their backs. I’d expect them to do something similar this weekend. Verdict: Carlow

Christy Ring Relegation Playoffs:
Armagh v London: Should be close, London won by a point in the Ulster Quarter Final but lost their two group games here pretty heavily. Armagh pushed Derry close in one of theirs. Maybe they’ve come on enough to overturn the Ulster result. Verdict: Armagh

Meath v Roscommon: Roscommon were hammered in both their games while Meath were unlucky to lose out in a tough group when Kerry caught them with a goal blitz. On that basis Meath should win well. Verdict: Meath

Nicky Rackard Semi Finals:
Monaghan v Louth: Louth were one of the competition favourites but weren’t all that impressive in the group stages when Longford beat them and then they bounced back to get a great win away to South Down last weekend. Monaghan have been having a great little year for themselves with a good run in the Ulster championship. Louth are Division 3 league champions while Monaghan are Division 4. You have to think that Louth are just that step above then. Verdict: Louth

Sligo v Fingal: The North Dublin team seem to be improving with every game and had a big win in their quarter final. Sligo have been going well but I think they’ve had a relatively easy path thus far. Fingal should have the edge. Verdict: Fingal

Minor Quarter Finals
Tipperary v Antrim: This is easy, Tipperary, by a lot. Verdict: Tipperary

Galway v Wexford: No form to count from Galway but they’re always good at this level, usually capable of winning every year. Wexford put up a good battle against Kilkenny but were well beaten in the end. Verdict: Galway

There we have it, 10 games, 10 predicitions - how many will I get right? Probably 5 knowing my predictive skills!

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