Weekend hurling predictions and GAA betting tips: Cork well poised to end 20-year drought
The latest hurling tips, predictions and best bets for this weekend's All-Ireland final
Best bets
Cork to win by 4-6 points
1pt 4-1 Paddy Power, BoyleSports
Half-time result: Draw
1pt 9-1 Paddy Power
Total points under 59.5
3pts 11-10 BoyleSports
Shane Barrett to win RTE Man Of The Match
1pt win 12-1 Paddy Power
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All-Ireland Hurling Championship predictions
Cork vs Tipperary predictions
BBC Two NI & RTE2, 3.30pm Sunday
Remarkably this will be the first time these two hurling heavyweights face off in the All-Ireland decider and it's unsurprisingly Cork who are the raging hot favourites as the stars seem to finally be aligning for them to end a 20-year drought.
They had a few hiccups in their Munster campaign, most notably when blowing a significant lead to draw against Clare in the opening round, while a 16-point hammering at the hands of Limerick in round three threatened to derail their campaign.
In between those two results, they defeated Tipperary by 15 points after enjoying a blistering start, but the final score doesn't tell the whole story as Darragh McCarthy was sent off before throw-in and Tipperary showed plenty of defiance and character to keep plugging away despite the numerical disadvantage.
A cosy win against Waterford and a defeat of Limerick with the help of penalties secured the Munster title which prompted the prospect of a clean sweep after their League triumph earlier in the season and they did little to quell that hype when annihilating Dublin a fortnight ago.
Seven goals in an All-Ireland semi-final is unheard of but Cork hit the net at will. Brian Hayes, Alan Connolly and Patrick Horgan scored 5-5 from play between them, solidifying their status as the most feared inside line in the game.
Tipperary have put in some excellent performances, including when drawing with Limerick and beating Waterford by nine in Munster.
Liam Cahill has a splendid blend of experience with John McGrath, Jason Forde and Ronan Maher and youth with u-20s Sam O'Farrell and Darragh McCarthy, while this has also been a breakthrough year for Andrew Ormonde.
However, they rode their luck at times against Kilkenny in the semi-final and relied on goals at crucial stages.
They were outplayed for the first 20 minutes and Kilkenny did a lot of the hurling in the second-half but conceded some poor frees and conceded a fourth goal with a few minutes to go.
Cork are further in their development than this Tipperary team and the narrative that Pat Ryan's men tend to lose close games is largely nonsense given they've gotten the better of Limerick in some desperately close affairs, while last year's final shouldn't be used as a stick to beat them with as they just came up short against an excellent Clare side.
They're much more the finished article this year and have a real edge in midfield with Tim O'Mahony and Darragh Fitzgibbon hurling brilliantly.
Tipperary are likely to play an extra defender in front of Cork's full forward line starting off, likely Ronan Maher, in order to avoid a glut of goals early on. If they allow direct ball into Brian Hayes with no cover in front, it could be lights out after 20 minutes as Cork can wipe teams out with their energy and pace if they hit the ground running.
Cahill's side will need to keep things as tight as possible for the first half at least before going for broke down the home stretch when they can spring Noel McGrath and Oisin O'Donoghue from the bench. With that in mind, the points line looks a touch too high and Cork to pull away late on by 4-6 points rates a decent wager.
Shane Barrett rates a play for individual honours. The centre-forward hasn't fully ignited yet this year but is one of the best attackers in the country and if Tipperary keep it tight close to their own goal then he should be afforded opportunities to shoot from out the field and run at their half-back line.
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