Laois Senior Hurling Championship round three previews and predictions

This weekend sees the final round of group stage games in this year's Senior Hurling Championship take place. The majority of the games are essentially dead rubbers due to the results in the previous games.

With four games down for decision, there are two double-headers Laois Hire O'Moore Park on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Group A takes centre stage on Saturday while Sunday sees the Group B teams in action.

The first game of the weekend will decide who comes second and third as Clough-Ballacolla take on Rosenallis from 5.30pm. The team who finishes second will play third in the other group while the third-placed team will take on Group B's second-placed team. The other game in Group A is the contest of Rathdowney-Errill and The Harps. This is essentially a dead rubber as Rathdowney-Errill can not be leapfrogged at the top of the group while The Harps will contest the relegation final due to them not being able to finish above Rosenallis or Clough-Ballacolla due to them having a superior head-to-head record.

In terms of the games themselves, Clough-Ballacolla fired in five goals in round two against The Harps as they bounced back from defeat to Rathdowney-Errill as they secured a quarter-final place as Garry Mernagh's side look to win a fourth consecutive Laois Senior Hurling Championship. They should have too much scoring power for Rosenallis and should claim second place in the group. Rathdowney-Errill are motoring well and should defeat The Harps to make it three wins from three, they'll also be rewarded with five-week break as they wait to find out their semi-final opponents.

On Sunday, there is a similar situation in Group B as Camross are all but guaranteed their semi-final place while Borris-Kilcotton will face The Harps in the relegation decider. Castletown and Abbeyleix St Lazarians will go head to head with the winner finishing second and the loser finishing third. This is a tough game to call with Abbeyleix coming into the game slight favourites having pushed Camross to the pin of their collar in the last round. The loser of this game will more than likely face four-in-a-row chasing Clough-Ballacolla so a victory is a must. 

See the full fixtures and predictions below:

Saturday August 18

Clough-Ballacolla v Rosenallis at Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 5.30pm. Prediction: Clough-Ballacolla

Rathdowney-Errill v The Harps at Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 7pm. Prediction: Rathdowney-Errill

Sunday August 19

Abbeyleix St Lazarian's v Castletown at Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 2pm. Prediction: Abbeyleix St Lazarian's

Camross v Borris-Kilcotton at Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 3.30pm. Prediction: Camross