PREVIEW: Coolderry and Birr in perfect place for Offaly Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals

COOLDERRY and Birr are in almost the perfect place for the Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals next weekend.

Coolderry meet St Rynagh's on Saturday while Birr try to unseat champions Shinrone on Sunday – both games are in O'Connor Park, Tullamore.

Coolderry and Birr are in quite similar positions for those games – they are both underdogs with very little external pressure surrounding their championship prospects.

It would, of course, be very wrong to suggest that they have nothing to lose. They have a quarter-final to lose and all the bitter disappointment that this will be followed by but in some ways, it is a free throw of the dice for them – and both clubs have to be given very good outside chances of shock wins.

The other big senior hurling game this weekend is the relegation play off between Kinnitty and Seir Kieran on Saturday.

Quarter-final previews

St Rynagh's v Coolderry: Saturday in O'Connor Park 5pm

St Rynagh's will be very wary of the challenge that Coolderry will present them in Tullamore on Saturday evening.

While St Rynagh's form has not been entirely convincing and there are definite question marks over them, the form book suggests that they will advance.

Yet Coolderry will fancy their chances here. They scraped out of the more difficult of the two groups but when the gun was to their heads they performed, giving their best display of the year by a country mile when eliminating Belmont.

You just have to admire Coolderry and the pure determination they play with. They are heading into a transitional period. Many of their long serving stalwarts are gone; Brian Carroll, one of the greatest hurlers in Offaly for the past twenty years, is now being used as a high impact sub – coming on at nearly the same time early in the second half in every game and showing his class with crucial scores.

Some of the newcomers have developing to do, yet Coolderry are in the quarter-finals and they are very dangerous. You can be fairly certain that they will perform here and that if they lose, it won't be for lack of commitment anyway.

Having said all that, it's hard not to back St Rynagh's here. There are doubts about them and they haven't fully ignited yet but they have done what has been required and their passage to the quarter-finals was never in doubt. They relinquished the Sean Robbins Cup last year after their great three in a row run and are desperate to add another one. There is a realisation in Banagher that their train could be slowing down as a handful of their players approach veteran ranks and their underage results in recent years suggest that they could be heading for transition.

They are very genuine contenders this year and no one would be surprised if they added another championship. Firstly they have to get by Saturday and that is far from a formality. Coolderry will fancy their chances here and it is part of their psyche that they will expect to win. They have a decent outside chance but having been able to operate in the knowledge that they would be in the quarter-finals, the real business starts for St Rynagh's now. There is doubts and this is a big test for them but they can survive.

Verdict – St Rynagh's.

Shinrone v Birr: Sunday in O'Connor Park 4pm

It is a sign of very changed times that Shinrone are favourites for this, Birr underdogs but that is the way it is.

Birr have not won a championship since 2008 while Shinrone created history when winning their first last year. Birr are working fierce hard to get back up there and they command respect but they are championship outsiders.

A defeat by Ballinamere in their last group game sent Shinrone into the quarter-finals and the way they died a death in the closing ten minutes that day was surprising. It raises some questions but it should not be over analysed either – it wasn't knockout hurling and sometimes, going the quarter-final route can serve a club well.

There is a lot of pressure on Shinrone here. They would love to win a second one and not be one season wonders. That has happened clubs before and that potential is there for Shinrone. They brought the Offaly hurling world to their feet last year and definitely have a chance of putting them back to back but if they don't win one this year, the ship could sail for them very quickly.

Time will judge their long term health but Shinrone's prospects this year are as good as anyone. This is a huge pressure game for them and it will tell a lot. There has been some speculation that Ciaran Cleary will be back from Australia for this – Cleary's performances at full forward were instrumental in Shinrone's success last year and if he was back, he would be a huge asset to them.

Birr will be desperate to get Eoghan Cahill back. The sharp shooter missed the group stages and with Kinnitty and Seir Kieran in their group, they could afford his absence but they can't from here on. With Cahill on board, Birr will have a chance against everyone and they are capable of big performances.

Of the six remaining teams, Birr and Coolderry are the outsiders but Birr will always expect to beat Shinrone – even if the reality of results and players at their disposal suggests otherwise. There is a very good chance of one upset this weekend and Birr are capable of delivering that. At the same time, Shinrone are favourites – apart from the last ten minutes against Ballinamere, they have played very professionally this year. The impression remains that they have another gear but Sunday will reveal if this is true or not.

Verdict – Shinrone.

Relegation play off

Kinnitty v Seir Kieran: Saturday in Birr 3.15pm

An absolutely huge game for two very proud clubs, who have contributed so much to Offaly hurling. Seir Kieran and Kinnitty are neighbours, they socialise together and they know each other fierce well.

It is not a surprise that they are in this predicament. Seir Kieran were always going to end up in trouble in a group that included Ballinamere, Shinrone, Coolderry and Belmont. Yet they performed much better than last year and were very close to a shock win on a couple of occasions.

In the other group, it was always going to boil down to Kinnitty and Tullamore for the relegation play off. Kinnitty ended up there and are now on very rocky ground.

This is a real 50-50 game and will be won by who wants it more, who has put in the harder work since they ended up in this bad place. Seir Kieran have performed better this year than Kinnitty but no result would be a surprise here.

Verdict – Seir Kieran.