
Some interesting early round ties as always.
The draws for the Laois football and hurling championships took place last night.
The competitions are scheduled to get underway in July.
Portarlington and Clough-Ballacolla will go into the season as the defending senior champions, having also performed well in the provincial championships before Christmas.
Here's how the draws worked out in both codes.
Laois SFC - Knockout Round 1:
- Arles-Killeen v Portarlington
- Portlaoise v Emo
- O’Dempsey’s v Killeshin
- Rosenallis v Ballyroan-Abbey
- St Joseph’s v Ballylinan
- Stradbally v Ballyfin
- Park-Ratheniska v Courtwood
- Graiguecullen v Clonaslee-St Manman’s
The Intermediate football championship is also a knockout format and the draw is as follows.
Laois IFC - Knockout Round 1:
- Ballyroan-Abbey v Timahoe
- The Rock v Crettyard
- O’Dempsey’s v The Heath
- Mountmellick v Arles-Kilcruise
Both will operate a back door system as normal.
HURLING
Switching codes it has been decided to adopt the same format right through out the system, with groups of four drawn at each level.
The top team in each will advance directly to a semi-final, second and third place contest the quarter-finals and the team that finishes bottom of their group will be involved in the relegation series.
Here's the groupings for the opening phase the Laois SHC.
Group A:
- Clough-Ballacolla
- Camross
- Castletown
- The Harps
Group B:
- Borris-Kilcotton
- Rathdowney-Errill
- Ballinakill
- Rosenallis
It's a similar situation in the second tier, where Abbeyleix will be hoping their stay is short lived following last season's relegation.
Group A:
- Abbeyleix
- Portlaoise
- Trumera
- Rathdowney-Errill
Group B:
- Ballyfin
- Slieve Bloom
- Camross
- Clonaslee-St Manman’s
That concludes the draw in the top two tiers for each code.