Laois SHC Preview: Camross remain the team to beat in this year's Championship

The opening round of the Laois Senior hurling championship commences this week, and while Camross remain the side to dethrone, it looks to be an open championship at both the top and bottom of the competition.

Camross' success in winning the Bob O'Keefe Cup for the second year running was overshadowed by an incident between Camross and Rathdowney-Errill players that resulted in Ross King suffering an injury to his face in the county final. At that stage, Rathdowney-Errill were two clear of Camross with five minutes left until half-time.

That seemed to change the complexion of the contest, as teenager Eoin Gaughan got in for a goal just before the interval and Camross went on to win by two points in the end.

That incident aside, Camross were more than deserving winners, showing real resolve to claim back-to-back championships against a talent-stacked outfit in Rathdowney-Errill, even without Ross King. In that final, Zane Keenan, Camross' marksman down through the years, fired over seven points.

However, the county champions will be without Keenan for the rest of the season after he picked up a nasty injury in a league and Palmer Cup final joint-game against Castletown, which they won. And after taking home the Palmer Cup, Camross weren't finished winning silverware. They beat Borris-Kilcotton and Clough-Ballacolla on the way to claiming successive Division 1 titles.

While the loss of Keenan will be difficult shoes to fill, Camross have had a number of players in with the Laois Seniors this year. Vice-captain for Laois this year, Joe Phelan saw the most game-time out of them all, and performed admirably, particularly in the famous win over Dublin.

Eoin Gaughan also saw a bit of game-time, and as mentioned before, scored the goal that swung the tide in the county final last year. Lorcan Burke is another who made a few cameos for the Laois Seniors, and is a defender that is well able to look after any forward physically. However, Mark Dowling will be missing for Camross as he's in America at the minute.

The biggest challenges to Camross' throne look like coming from Rathdowney-Errill and Borris-Kilcotton. Rathdowney-Errill will be gunning to avenge that devastating defeat in the final last year, and will be able to call on a lot of quality in doing so.

Mark Kavanagh enjoyed his best season to date last year with the Laois seniors, as he gave a masterclass in the wins over Westmeath in the Joe McDonagh Cup final and Dublin. Jack Kelly, down the opposite end, was another who put in performances nearly worthy of an All-Star nomination.

Paddy Purcell in midfield even received comparisons to Usain Bolt by Sunday Game pundit Brendan Cummins in the aftermath of the Joe McDonagh Cup final match. Ross King didn't quite shine like he has done in previous years for Laois, but still showed his quality in banging in goals against Westmeath and Tipperary.

Rathdowney-Errill have quality in every single line on the field, and will be looking to take down Camross alongside another big-hitter in Borris-Kilcotton.

They have flattered to deceive a bit since winning that epic replayed encounter against Rathdowney-Errill back in 2016 to land the Bob O'Keefe Cup. They will be disappointed with their display with their campaigns in 2017 and 2018, as there is more potential in them. The bookies have Borris-Kilcotton as favourites for the trophy.

Two of the dark horses are Clough-Ballacolla and Ballinakill. You wouldn't think a team that reached the Senior county-final only two years previous could be considered dark horses, but Clough-Ballacolla have fallen back a good bit from then.

Last season they suffered a very heavy defeat to Borris-Kilcotton in the quarters, never looking like troubling them throughout. They did perform well in the league, but are set to be without Willie Hyland and John A Delaney for their opening fixture due to suspension.

Ballinakill enjoyed one of their best seasons in the championship seasons last year, surprisingly topping a group that had Rathdowney-Errill in it.

A semi-final clash with Camross followed, and while they lost by eight points in the end, the final scoreline doesn't give an accurate indication of how even a contest that game was.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there looks to be three teams who will be just looking to avoid relegation in Abbeyleix St Lazarian's, Castletown and Portlaoise.

Abbeyleix St Lazarian's appear the strongest out of the three, but they have been thrown into the tougher group alongside Camross, Borris-Kilcotton and Clough-Ballacolla. It seems unlikely that they're going to get any results from Camross and Borris-Kilcotton, but might fancy their chances of sneaking something out of Clough-Ballacolla in the opening fixture.

The very first game of the championship pits together Portlaoise and Castletown, and the stakes are high for both.
The loser will most likely face into a relegation final, and with Portlaoise's Cahir Healy ruled out through injury, Castletown will go in all guns blazing to get the points.