Trim lead the pack in IFC listings

With the 2021 GAA season set to be split into definitive inter-county and club campaigns and a possible start date still up in the air due to Covid-19 restrictions clubs have been delayed in commencing their preparations for league, knock-out cup and championship campaigns.

Of the 52 clubs that will contest the football competitions less than half can harbour realistic ambitions of winning anything, while on the hurling front only a handful of teams can justifiably claim to have a shot at the big prize in their respective grades.

Next up for evaluation in our power rankings are the 20 intermediate contenders for the Mattie McDonnell Cup.

After reaching the last two finals Trim will be strong favourites to make it third time lucky, but the Meath IFC is notoriously difficult to win and with Nobber back in the grade after their one year stint at senior and Ballivor hugely impressive when making the leap from junior the race for a place in senior football for 2022 looks hotter than ever.

1 - TRIM

If at first you don't succeed try and try again. Trim will be hoping to make it third time lucky and after an impressive 2020 that saw them beat Rathkenny, Drumbaragh, Bective and Kilmainham by seven, 10, 10 and 18 points respectively in the championship they sit top of our power rankings. Losing to Ballinabrackey was a major blow and was one of just three defeats all year with the other two losses coming in the Corn na Boinne where they were understrength and lost to St Michael's and Drumbaragh.

2 - NOBBER

If their one year in senior is to be remembered for anything it will be their shock win over Simonstown. After being hammered by Ratoath in round one, Nobber showed impressive character to bounce back and beat the 2017 and '18 champions, but they couldn't maintain that form and lost to Skryne to plunge into the relegation play-offs where further defeats to Curraha and Dunshaughlin condemned them back to the IFC. The year started on the back foot with a hammering by Gaeil Colmcille in Feis Cup, but they rallied to draw with Na Fianna and then beat Dunshaughlin. They also won both their AFL Div 2 games and St Colmcille's and Castletown when play resumed. So losing to only Ratoath, Skryne and Gaeil Colmcille in one year isn't a bad record at all.

3 - RATHKENNY

It was all about the championship in 2020 for Rathkenny and even though they lost all their Corn na Boinne games early in the season they returned after lockdown with wins over Duleek/Bellewstown and St Patrick's in A FL Div 2B. However, they lost heavily to Trim in the opening round of the IFC and that put paid to their chances, but they will be right in the mix again in 2021.

4 - ST MICHAEL'S

It was a tale of semi-final woes for St Michael's in what was an otherwise hugely impressive year. They beat Rathkenny, Drumbaragh and Trim to advance to the semi-final where they lost to Walterstown. That defeat came after another semi-final loss when they were beaten by Ballinabrackey in the IFC semi-final. St Michael's had topped their group with wins over St Pat's, Moylagh and Walterstown, but ultimately ended without glory despite seven wins from 10 games.

5 - WALTERSTOWN

2020 was a year of so many what might have beens. hit by injuries late on they lost out to St Michael's in their final IFC group game and missed out on a place in the semi-finals. They were dominant in the Corn na Boinne where they beat Duleek/Bellewstown and Clann na nGael in their group, Ballinabrackey in a preliminary semi-final and then St Michael's in the last four to set up a final against Castletown which could be played in the coming months. Also beat Dunderry and lost to Trim in A FL Div 2C, so a record of seven wins from nine games puts them in a healthy place.

6 - DULEEK/

BELLEWSTOWN

The draw with Ballinabrackey in the opening game of the IFC put them on the back foot and even though they won their next game against Oldcastle, a high scoring draw with Syddan in their final group game put them out of the reckoning as Ballinabrackey hammered Oldcastle to advance instead. Endured a bit of a mixed bag early in the year losing to Walterstown before beating Clann na nGael Then after play resumed they lost to Rathkenny and beat Carnaross in A FL Div 2B, so it was a very inconsistent year for Duleek/Bellewstown who will hope to improve under new manager Joe Sheridan.

7 - DUNDERRY

Dunderry went into 2020 with so much hope, but ahead of the new year their aspirations have dipped following an inconsistent campaign. Lost to Moylagh and Castletown in the Corn na Boinne and then when play resumed after lockdown they were beaten by Walterstown before managing their first win of the year against Ballinlough. A slip up against Kilmainham in the opening game of the IFC put paid to their championship ideas early doors. They did show some promise by beating Castletown and Blackhall Gaels, but three wins from seven games suggests huge improvements are necessary.

8 - CLANN NA nGAEL

Making the jump up from junior, Clann na nGael showed little or no nerves against the bigger guns and they qualified for the knockout stages with wins over Ballinlough, Longwood and Meath Hill. However, eventual champions Ballinabrackey proved too strong in the preliminary semi-final. The year started with Corn na Boinne losses to Walterstown and Duleek/Bellewstown, but when play re-started the beat Ratoath and Summerhill's second strings in A FL Div 4. So if you take their games last January out of the equation, they had five wins from their last six outings.

9 - BALLIVOR

It isn't too often that a team gaining promotion would earn such a high ranking in the higher grade, but Ballivor's performances were so impressive in 2020 that they will be there or thereabouts for honors in 2021 again. The year started with wins over Boardsmill and Clonard and a draw with St Ultan's in the Tailteann Cup before losing to St Vincent's in the semi-final. When the action resumed in July they lost to Donaghmore/Ashbourne's second team in A FL Div 2C, but bounced back with a win over Meath Hill before embarking on a JFC run that saw them beat Carnaross, Boardsmill and Clonard by a combined total of 31 points. They then hammered St Ultan's by 19 in the semi-final before getting revenge over St Vincent's in a battle by five in the final.

10 - MEATH HILL

Started their IFC well with wins over Longwood and Ballinlough, but slipped up in their final group game against Clann na nGael and missed out on a place in the knockout stages. At the beginning of the year they were beaten by Syddan and Kilmainham in Corn na Boinne and then gave a w/o to St Pat's in final game. Did not enjoy a good restart to the season when losing to St Vincent's and Ballivor in A FL Div 3C, so are very inconsistent.

11 - BLACKHALL GAELS

Another of those sides that suffers from inconsistency. Blackhall Gaels started their IFC well with a win over Castletown, but couldn't follow it up and a surprise loss against Kilmainham was followed by defeat to Dunderry. At the start of the year wins over Ballinlough and Oldcastle couldn't boost Blackhall Gaels in the Corn na Boinne as they lost to Ballinabrackey who topped the group. In July they did beat Drumbaragh in Div 3A of A FL and followed that with a win over Dunboyne's seconds, but that form didn't help them in the championship.

12 - SYDDAN

A mixed bag. Opened their IFC with a win over Oldcastle, but followed it with a 21-point loss against Ballinabrackey. Bounced back to finish with a draw against Duleek/Bellewstown. They opened the year with a draw against Meath Hill in Corn na Boinne and followed it with wins over St Pat's and Kilmainham to qualify for knockout stages where they lost to Castletown. Operating in A FL Div 1 proved difficult as they lost by 31 points to Ratoath, but improved despite also losing to Dunshaughlin by just three in their only other game of the league.

13 - KILMAINHAM

Tipped by many for the drop in 2020, Kilmainham surprised many by qualifying for the semi-finals following victories over Dunderry and Blackhall Gaels. However, they found Trim too strong in the last four and fell to a heavy defeat. They managed just one win in the Corn na Boinne while losing to St Patrick's and Syddan. They did enjoy better results in the A FL Div 3 and that led to an impressive championship. Their 13th place ranking might seem unfair, but they didn't win a game in the 2019 championship and if Mickey Newman fails to return from injury they might struggle again.

14 - DRUMBARAGH

The results are not a fair reflection of Drumbaragh's performances in 2020. Their only loss in Corn na Boinne came against impressive St Michael's, while managed to beat Trim and Rathkenny. After lockdown they lost to Blackhall Gaels in A FL Div 3, but rallied to beat St Michael's in their second game. In the IFC the first round defeat by Bective was a shock, but they did cause Trim plenty of problems in round two before earning a draw with Rathkenny in their final group game. That draw wasn't enough to prevent them from sliding into the relegation play-offs, but they did manage to stay up with a win over Castletown.

15 - OLDCASTLE

What a difference a year make. After reaching the semi-finals in 2019 it was a horrible IFC for Oldcastle who lost to Syddan, Duleek/Bellewstown and Ballinabrackey, recording a scoring difference of minus 31 from their three games. They managed to avoid relegation with a play-off win over Ballinlough. The highlight of their Corn na Boinne, and indeed their year, was an opening round draw with Ballinabrackey, but they lost the next two games and finished bottom of the group. They operated in Div 1A but lost both the games they played at home to Summerhill by 19 points and away to Na Fianna by 6. Lost seven and drew one of their nine games!

16 - LONGWOOD

After suffering relegation from senior in 2019 Longwood found the going tough and lost to Meath Hill on their return to intermediate. They improved from there, but still lost to Clann na nGael by a point. They managed to avoid a second successive relegation play-off situation with victory over Ballinlough in their final game. The fact that they opted not to enter the Tailteann Cup left them without football until July and when play restarted they played only one game in A FL Div 4C, losing to Moylagh before also struggling in the championship. really need a massive improvement if they are to avoid trouble again in 2021.

17 - BECTIVE

The year started poorly for Bective with losses to Castletown and Moylagh in Corn na Boinne. It did improve slightly in the league when they beat Moynalty, but lost to Kilmainham. However when the IFC started they stunned Drumbaragh in the opening round to effectively secure their status, but they followed that win with disappointing losses by big margins to Trim and Rathkenny. Need to kick on under new manager Kevin Dowd.

18 - BALLINLOUGH

2020 was horrible year for Ballinlough on and off the field and one they will want to put behind them very quickly. Lost all three games in the IFC group stages to Longwood, Meath Hill and Clann na nGael, but did manage to preserve status by bouncing back from defeat against Oldcastle to beat St Patrick's. Their one win in the Corn na Boinne came against Oldcastle as they lost to Blackhall Gaels and Ballinabrackey. (Lost their A FL Div 2C games to Trim and Dunderry. So their year finished - played 10 won two. The only way is up, they hope.

19 - MOYLAGH

They managed to get the better of St Pat's in their final group game to avoid an IFC relegation play-off. They lost narrowly to Walterstown in first game before being hammered by St Michael's. Started Corn na Boinne well with a win over Dunderry, but slumped against Bective and Castletown. (Beat Skryne seconds and Longwood in Div 4C to give an overall picture of a mixed bag.

20 - ST PATRICK'S

Hard to believe the Stamullen men were a senior side in 2019 before being relegated along with Rathkenny and Longwood.

They were fortunate to escape another drop last year as they finished bottom of their group following losses to Moylagh, Walterstown and St Michael's. They also lost to Ballinlough in the first relegation play-off before surviving with a five-point relegation final victory over Castletown, heir second win of 2020. They had beaten Kilmainham in the Corn na Boinne, but only managed a draw with Carnaross and a defeat against Rathkenny in A FL Div 2B. One win and a draw from nine games. Poor stuff.