Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Power Rankings After Round 2: The Championship Has Been Turned Upside Down
Two rounds.
Sixteen teams.
Sixteen matches.
And almost every assumption we carried into the FBD Insurance Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship has been challenged.
The team that sat at No. 1 after the opening round is now barely hanging onto a place in the top ten.
The beaten county finalists from each of the previous two seasons are staring at a relegation battle despite possessing one of the most explosive attacks in the championship.
The North champions have lost twice.
The 2025 Intermediate champions have moved up a grade and immediately become the highest-scoring team in it.
A Mid side that looked like it might be fighting just to escape its group has suddenly produced the biggest attacking performance of the championship.
Another contender has quietly gone two from two, secured a quarter-final and barely attracted any noise while doing it.
And sitting above them all is a new No. 1.
We will get to them.
What makes this Premier Intermediate championship so fascinating is that there is no obvious formula for success.
One team is averaging 30 point-equivalents per game.
Another is conceding only 17.
One has six goals after two rounds and no championship points.
Another has scored only two goals but has already won its group.
One attack is being powered by a player on 1-25.
Another leading contender does not have a single player among the top seven overall scorers.
That is why these rankings cannot simply mirror the group tables.
Power rankings are about something slightly different.
If the knockout stages started tomorrow, which teams would you least want to draw?
Which performances look repeatable?
Which statistics are genuine indicators of championship quality, and which are misleading?
Who can win when Plan A fails?
Who can score when the main man is stopped?
Who can protect a lead?
Who can chase one?
And, perhaps most importantly, who has enough at both ends of the field to survive when the temperature rises?
For this ranking we have looked at the two rounds of county championship results, overall scoring, goals, average scoring output, defensive returns, score differential, individual scorers, scores from play, divisional form, tactical performance and each club’s Round 3 situation.
The scorer sheets underline just how different the leading attacks are. Ben Currivan and Paddy Carey sit on 1-25, Jason Forde has 2-20, Callum Lanigan 2-19, David Nealon 3-12 and Eoghan Doughan 2-15. The from-play leaderboard looks completely different, with Jack Leamy on 3-06, Keane Hayes on 2-07, Nealon on 3-02 and Currivan and Cillian Minogue both producing 11 point-equivalents from play.
Across the opening two rounds, Golden-Kilfeacle lead the attacking table with 60 point-equivalents, an average of 30.0 per game.
Moyne-Templetuohy are next at 58, averaging 29.0.
Carrick Swan are third on 56, despite losing both matches.
Burgess have 55.
Seán Treacys have 54.
At the opposite end, Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill have managed 35 and Templederry Kenyons just 34.
Defensively, the order is almost reversed.
The best defence in the competition has conceded only 34 point-equivalents.
Moneygall and Gortnahoe-Glengoole have conceded 39.
Lorrha-Dorrha 40.
At the bottom, Carrick Swan have conceded 59, Templederry 60 and Seán Treacys 63.
That is a difference of almost 15 points per game between the most secure defence and the most vulnerable.
The new supplementary power-ranking notes also add important championship context, including Templederry’s recent relegation trajectory, the peculiar situation Silvermines find themselves in as North champions, Golden coping with Jack Leamy’s Round 2 injury and the impact of Gearóid O’Connor’s return on Moyne-Templetuohy.
There is one correction worth making before the countdown.
Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill and Golden-Kilfeacle have met twice already this summer and have won one each.
Golden defeated Éire Óg 0-24 to 0-20 in the West group phase.
Éire Óg then reversed it in an extraordinary West final, winning 4-28 to 1-29 after extra-time.
Round 3 is therefore the rubber match.
With that settled, here is where all 16 teams stand.
16. Templederry Kenyons
Previous ranking: 16
Record: Played 2, Lost 2
Scoring: 34
Average scored: 17.0
Conceded: 60
Average conceded: 30.0
Differential: -26
Goals scored: 1
Round 3: Lorrha-Dorrha
There is no serious argument for moving Templederry away from No. 16.
Not yet.
They currently possess the lowest scoring total in the Premier Intermediate championship and the second-worst defensive return.
They have scored 34 point-equivalents.
They have conceded 60.
That is a differential of -26 after only two games.
Nobody else is close to that level of negative return.
The concern is not simply that Templederry have lost twice.
It is how the losses have developed.
They remained in the contest against Moneygall for a substantial period in Round 1 before being overwhelmed down the closing stretch.
Moneygall outscored them 1-06 to 0-02 over the decisive final phase and won 2-20 to 0-15.
Round 2 followed a similar but even more damaging pattern.
Templederry were actually three points ahead of Burgess after approximately 20 minutes.
Then the match disappeared.
Burgess produced a devastating 1-09 to 0-02 burst before half-time.
The Kenyons went from leading a competitive game to trailing 1-14 to 0-10.
The second half then became even uglier.
David Nealon scored twice.
Daire Hogan found the net.
Burgess finished with 4-22.
Templederry with 1-16.
That is not simply a defensive issue.
It speaks to an inability to stop momentum when a match begins moving against them.
There was supposed to be one major positive ahead of Round 2.
The return of Seán Ryan.
Ryan gives Templederry a genuine attacking focal point and has shown previously that he can produce large scoring performances.
Yet even with their main scoring threat back in the side, Templederry still produced only 19 point-equivalents.
Michael Collins has been their leading scorer across the opening rounds with 0-10.
Colm Murray has six.
Seán Collins five.
Brian Stapleton three.
Mattie Hogan has scored their solitary championship goal.
The attack simply has not created enough.
And there is wider context.
Templederry were relegated from Senior in 2024.
Rather than stabilising immediately at Premier Intermediate, they now find themselves preparing for another relegation battle.
That gives their current position a longer-term importance.
This is no longer simply a poor two-game run.
They need to arrest a downward trajectory.
Their Round 3 game with Lorrha will not change their group position.
Templederry are already bottom.
Lorrha have already won the section.
Maybe that gives the Kenyons freedom.
There is no scoreboard calculation to manage.
No qualification mathematics.
Just a badly needed performance before the relegation series begins.
They need Seán Ryan firing.
They need a better puckout platform.
They need their defence to survive periods when opponents increase the pressure.
Most of all, they need to rediscover belief.
The bottom line: Lowest attack in the championship, second-worst defence, one goal in two games and another relegation battle ahead. Until they show otherwise, No. 16 is unavoidable.
15. Ballina
Previous ranking: 14
Record: Played 2, Drawn 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 39
Average scored: 19.5
Conceded: 51
Average conceded: 25.5
Differential: -12
Goals scored: 1
Round 3: Boherlahan-Dualla
Ballina drop one place despite producing a much better Round 2 performance.
That tells you how damaging Round 1 was.
Their 3-23 to 1-17 loss against Golden-Kilfeacle was effectively decided before half-time.
Golden had 2-16 on the board by the break.
Ballina’s attempts to play through the lines repeatedly broke down, exposing the defence and creating ideal conditions for Jack Leamy and Ben Currivan.
Round 2 looked like a different team.
Steven O’Brien’s deployment at centre-back was significant.
For the first time in the county championship, Ballina had real stability through the middle of the defence.
Cillian Ryan was also given the difficult task of tracking Darragh Kelly.
The shape improved.
The work-rate improved.
And Ballina’s response when the game appeared to be escaping was probably the most encouraging part.
Éire Óg moved four clear at 0-18 to 0-14 late in the game.
Ballina did not collapse.
They attacked.
Charlie King kept producing from play.
Matthew Power maintained the placed-ball platform.
Luke McKeogh became increasingly influential.
Darragh Kelly then looked to have won it for Éire Óg deep in injury time.
One final Ballina attack earned a free.
McKeogh converted it.
0-19 each.
Final whistle.
That was championship character.
The scorer breakdown also shows an improving spread.
Matthew Power has 0-15 across two rounds, although only one of those points has come from play.
Luke McKeogh has 0-08.
Eoghan Power has seven point-equivalents.
Charlie King has 0-05, all from play.
That is healthier than Round 1, when the attack was far too dependent on placed-ball opportunities.
But the broader numbers remain weak.
Ballina have scored just 39.
Only Éire Óg and Templederry have scored less.
Their -12 differential is also a major concern.
They have conceded three goals across two games while scoring just one themselves.
Round 2 has given them a route back into the championship.
Round 3 against Boherlahan-Dualla will determine whether they can take it.
Boherlahan have been considerably more consistent over the two rounds, but the Ballina that drew with Éire Óg looked far more competitive than the team Golden dismantled.
The key is maintaining the new defensive structure.
O’Brien needs to control the central channel again.
Ballina need more open-play scores from King, McKeogh and Eoghan Power.
And they cannot enter the final ten minutes requiring a four-point rescue every week.
There is something to build on.
But there is still plenty to fix.
The bottom line: Round 2 was a genuine step forward. The table and overall numbers still say Ballina have major work to do.
14. Carrick Swan
Previous ranking: 2
Movement: Down 12
Record: Played 2, Lost 2
Scoring: 56
Average scored: 28.0
Conceded: 59
Average conceded: 29.5
Differential: -3
Goals scored: 6
Round 3: Killenaule
This may be the most extraordinary statistical profile in the entire Tipperary club championship.
Carrick Swan have scored six goals in two matches.
They are averaging 28 point-equivalents per game.
Only Golden-Kilfeacle and Moyne-Templetuohy have scored more.
And Carrick are already heading for a relegation battle.
Six goals.
56 point-equivalents.
Zero championship points.
It takes some doing.
Their Round 1 defeat to Thurles Sarsfields was understandable.
They lost by one.
Calum Lanigan produced 2-10.
There was enough there to argue that Carrick remained a serious contender.
Round 2 was the bigger alarm.
St Mary’s scored 2-26 against them.
Thirty-two point-equivalents.
Carrick responded with 3-21.
Still lost.
This is not an attack problem.
Carrick’s attack is championship calibre.
The defence currently is not.
They have conceded 59 point-equivalents.
Only Seán Treacys have conceded more.
That is the statistic that has taken a team ranked second after Round 1 and dropped them all the way to 14.
There has at least been progress in attacking distribution.
Round 1 was dominated by Lanigan’s extraordinary 2-10.
After two rounds he sits on 2-19, fourth on the overall championship scoring list.
But the supporting cast is now contributing.
Aaron Dunne has eight point-equivalents.
Stefan Tobin has six.
Eric O’Halloran has five.
Taylor Fleming five.
Aaron O’Halloran four.
Callum Walsh three.
That is exactly what Carrick needed after Round 1.
The frustrating part is that they fixed the obvious attacking concern and still lost.
What a difference 12 months can make.
Carrick Swan have contested each of the last two Premier Intermediate county finals.
Their recent pedigree is unquestioned.
But instead of preparing for another run at the Seamus O Riain Cup, they are now preparing for relegation.
Round 3 against Killenaule cannot change their group fate.
Carrick are already fixed at the bottom.
But the game still matters enormously.
They need a defensive performance.
They need something positive before the relegation series.
They need evidence that the team capable of reaching consecutive county finals is still in there.
Their attack alone makes them frightening in a relegation game.
No team at the bottom of another group will want to face a side averaging 28.
But if Carrick continue conceding close to 30, the quality of their forwards becomes almost irrelevant.
The bottom line: One of the best attacks in the championship attached to one of the worst defences. Six goals, two defeats, relegation battle. Almost impossible to believe.
13. Silvermines
Previous ranking: 11
Record: Played 2, Lost 2
Scoring: 44
Average scored: 22.0
Conceded: 53
Average conceded: 26.5
Differential: -9
Goals scored: 4
Round 3: Moyne-Templetuohy
Silvermines find themselves in one of the strangest positions imaginable.
They are the North champions.
They have a preliminary quarter-final route secured through that divisional title.
And yet they are also heading towards a county relegation battle.
Two different championships seem to be happening simultaneously.
That is what two county defeats have done.
The Round 1 loss to Seán Treacys was wild.
Treacys led 2-06 to 0-01 after only ten minutes.
Silvermines somehow dragged themselves back into contention and eventually lost 2-24 to 3-19.
That could be written off as a bizarre, high-scoring opener.
Round 2 was harder to dismiss.
Gortnahoe-Glengoole beat them 2-17 to 1-13.
Keane Hayes caused serious damage.
Ronan Teehan found a goal.
Damien Corbett controlled much of the scoreboard from placed balls.
Silvermines again looked towards Jason Forde.
And then looked towards him again.
Forde has scored 2-20 of their 4-32.
That is 26 of 44 point-equivalents.
Almost 60 per cent of everything Silvermines have scored.
He is unquestionably capable of keeping them alive in games.
The issue is that championship contenders cannot continually require one player to do that much.
Conor McKelvey has six point-equivalents.
Patrick Leamy four.
Danny Quinn three.
Seán Nolan two.
Andy Hayden two.
That supporting output needs to increase substantially.
Winning the North gives Silvermines a safety net at one end of the championship.
It does not remove the danger at the other.
And that makes Round 3 against Moyne far more important than an ordinary dead group game.
Silvermines need form.
They need confidence.
They need evidence that they can create scores without every attack ending at Forde.
Because they could soon be playing knockout championship hurling and relegation hurling within the same short window.
That is an extraordinary place to be.
Moyne are also probably the worst possible opponent for a defence trying to recover its confidence.
They just scored 3-26.
Silvermines have conceded 26.5 per game.
That is a dangerous combination.
The bottom line: North champions, preliminary-quarter-final route secured, but the county group campaign has been poor. Until the attack becomes less dependent on Forde, their ceiling remains limited.
12. Burgess
Previous ranking: 15
Movement: Up 3
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 55
Average scored: 27.5
Conceded: 45
Average conceded: 22.5
Differential: +10
Goals scored: 6
Round 3: Moneygall
Burgess are probably the team whose numerical profile differs most from their ranking.
Their statistics scream top eight.
The ranking still says 12.
That could change dramatically after Round 3.
Burgess have scored 55 point-equivalents.
Only Golden, Moyne and Carrick have more.
They have six goals, joint highest in the championship.
They possess a +10 differential.
And in Round 2 they absolutely destroyed Templederry.
The final score was:
Burgess 4-22 Templederry Kenyons 1-16.
But the manner of the win was more interesting than the margin.
Templederry were ahead after 20 minutes.
Burgess then increased the intensity around the middle third and puckout battle.
Everything changed.
Stephen Murray began dominating the placed-ball scoreboard.
David Nealon became increasingly dangerous.
Daire Hogan attacked from deeper.
Burgess scored 1-09 to Templederry’s 0-02 in a ten-minute spell.
The game was essentially over.
Nealon finished with 2-06 in Round 2.
Across two rounds he sits on 3-12, with 3-02 from play.
That open-play figure puts him among the championship’s most productive forwards.
Stephen Murray has 0-14.
Paul Cahalan has a goal among five point-equivalents.
Daire Hogan has 1-01.
Eoin Grace has four.
Tony Dunne has a goal.
Stephen Kirwan three.
There is far more around Nealon than the supplementary draft suggested.
He is their leading weapon.
He is not their only weapon.
Why, then, are Burgess only 12th?
Because the Templederry result requires context.
Templederry are currently bottom of these rankings.
When Burgess faced Lorrha-Dorrha, a team we believe has genuine championship credentials, Burgess lost 2-20 to 2-15.
They were competitive.
They even had periods where they looked capable of winning.
But Lorrha adjusted better.
Round 3 is therefore the perfect test.
Burgess against Moneygall.
A qualification game.
Moneygall have conceded just 19.5 per game.
Burgess are scoring 27.5.
Moneygall have conceded one goal.
Burgess have scored six.
The match almost writes its own tactical question.
If Nealon and the Burgess runners can penetrate one of the championship’s best defensive structures, Burgess suddenly become a very serious proposition.
If Moneygall shut them down, the Templederry result will look more like an outlier.
This is why power rankings are fun.
Burgess could legitimately be six or seven places higher by Sunday evening.
The bottom line: The underlying numbers are excellent. Now they must prove those numbers against a serious defensive opponent.
11. Seán Treacys
Previous ranking: 10
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 54
Average scored: 27.0
Conceded: 63
Average conceded: 31.5
Differential: -9
Goals scored: 3
Round 3: Gortnahoe-Glengoole
Few teams have shown a wider range between their best and worst.
Round 1:
2-24 against the North champions.
Round 2:
Concede 3-26.
Treacys are still averaging 27 point-equivalents.
That is the fifth-best attacking return in the grade.
Their defence is conceding 31.5.
That is comfortably the worst.
You cannot build a stable championship campaign around that difference.
The Moyne game exposed every problem.
Gearóid O’Connor found space.
Finn Jones found goals.
Conor Bowe found points.
Cormac Deegan contributed.
Moyne attacked from all angles.
Treacys had no answer.
Paul Nolan’s red card made the final stages even more difficult, but the structural problems existed before the dismissal.
At the other end, Paddy Carey continued his phenomenal individual championship.
He has 1-25 after two rounds, level with Ben Currivan at the top of the overall scoring table.
That is extraordinary.
It is also part of the problem.
Carey has supplied more than half of the entire Treacys attacking output.
Pat Deegan is next with six point-equivalents.
Patrick Dawson and James Butler have five each.
The Round 1 version of Treacys had far more attacking variety.
Dawson was heavily involved.
Butler threatened the goal.
Cillian Kennedy contributed.
In Round 2, too much responsibility returned to Carey.
The positive is that Treacys still control their own championship destiny.
They face Gortnahoe-Glengoole in Round 3.
Win and the entire conversation changes.
They also have no relegation pressure hanging over them.
That allows them to concentrate entirely on qualification.
But Gortnahoe are a difficult stylistic opponent.
They defend.
They are conceding 19.5.
They have Keane Hayes attacking from play and Damien Corbett to punish frees.
Treacys need the Round 1 attack with a completely different defensive performance.
They are capable of it.
Whether it is repeatable is another question.
The bottom line: Explosive enough to beat anyone, defensively vulnerable enough to lose to anyone. The most volatile team in the top 12.
10. Thurles Sarsfields
Previous ranking: 1
Movement: Down 9
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 45
Average scored: 22.5
Conceded: 53
Average conceded: 26.5
Differential: -8
Goals scored: 2
Round 3: St Mary’s
The biggest fall of the week.
From No. 1 to No. 10 in one round.
That sounds extreme until you examine what happened.
We had Sarsfields first because their Round 1 result was supported by previous evidence.
They were Mid champions.
They had defeated Gortnahoe-Glengoole in the Mid semi-final.
They had defeated Moyne-Templetuohy in the Mid final.
Then they beat Carrick Swan 2-21 to 3-17.
That was a substantial body of form.
Killenaule then beat them 2-21 to 0-18.
That is not a one-point fluctuation.
It is a nine-point defeat.
Sarsfields failed to score a goal.
Their attacking average dropped below the competition mean.
Their defensive average moved to 26.5.
Their overall differential is now -8.
Jack Lanigan remains the main scoreboard figure with 0-20 across the two county rounds.
Cillian Minogue has been excellent, producing 1-08 overall and all 11 point-equivalents from play.
After those two, the numbers decrease quickly.
Liam McCormack has three.
Philip Hayes has a goal.
The rest are smaller contributions.
There is also the unavoidable second-team dynamic.
The make-up of Sarsfields B is linked to the senior panel.
That can affect personnel, roles and continuity.
They have handled that extremely well for much of 2026.
But it is always a variable.
Round 3 against St Mary’s is fascinating.
The South champions against the Mid champions.
Both sides already have a preliminary-quarter-final safety net through their divisional titles.
That means the loser’s championship is not over.
But it does not make the game unimportant.
A direct quarter-final route is far more attractive than another knockout game.
More importantly for Sars, this is about stopping one bad result becoming a trend.
They were No. 1 after Round 1.
Beat St Mary’s and the Killenaule performance can be categorised as a poor day against the form side in the championship.
Lose again and the entire perception changes.
That is how quickly this grade moves.
The bottom line: Proven enough to remain dangerous, but the Killenaule defeat has materially changed the evidence. Round 3 is a response test.
9. Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill
Previous ranking: 9
Record: Played 2, Drawn 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 35
Average scored: 17.5
Conceded: 42
Average conceded: 21.0
Differential: -7
Goals scored: 0
Round 3: Golden-Kilfeacle
The most contradictory team in the championship.
Their county numbers say one thing.
Their West championship says something completely different.
In the county championship, Éire Óg have scored:
0-16
and
0-19.
No goals.
35 point-equivalents.
15th of 16 teams for attacking output.
Aidan Griffin has supplied 0-17 of that total.
Dinny Crosse has five.
Donal O’Dwyer five.
Darragh Kelly three.
The rest is made up of small contributions.
That is not the attack we saw in the West championship.
Éire Óg won the West final by scoring 4-28 against Golden-Kilfeacle after extra-time.
That is 40 point-equivalents in one match.
Five more than they have scored in two county games combined.
You cannot simply dismiss that performance.
The ability exists.
We have just not seen it reproduced at county level.
Round 2 against Ballina should have been a win.
Éire Óg moved four points clear late.
Griffin was controlling the frees.
Dinny Crosse contributed strongly.
Darragh Kelly seemed to have landed the winner in injury time.
Then they allowed one final Ballina attack.
Free.
Equaliser.
Two points became one.
There were positives.
Kelly and Tom Fox were back involved.
The defence remains strong.
Éire Óg concede only 21.0 point-equivalents per match, one of the better figures in the grade.
And the West title guarantees a preliminary knockout route.
The pressure is therefore different.
Round 3 is Golden.
Again.
This is their third meeting this summer.
Golden won the first.
Éire Óg won the second.
The third comes with Golden already through and Éire Óg trying to build championship momentum.
The biggest question remains the simplest:
Where have the goals gone?
They scored four against Golden in the West final.
They have scored zero in two county games.
That cannot continue if Éire Óg have serious ambitions of winning the Seamus O Riain Cup.
The bottom line: Their West form says contender. Their county attacking numbers say bottom half. Until those two versions meet, No. 9 feels right.
8. Moneygall
Previous ranking: 5
Movement: Down 3
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 45
Average scored: 22.5
Conceded: 39
Average conceded: 19.5
Differential: +6
Goals scored: 3
Round 3: Burgess
The Moneygall defence deserves enormous credit.
Only one team has conceded less.
They held Templederry to 0-15.
Then they restricted Lorrha-Dorrha to 1-21 in a game that was level deep into the second half.
The full-back unit has consistently provided a platform.
The concern is whether the attack has enough when the margins become tiny.
Eoghan Doughan remains the leading scorer with 2-15.
He has contributed 21 of Moneygall’s 45 point-equivalents.
Tadhg Whyte has seven.
Seán Kenneally six.
Adam Hogan five.
The supporting cast is contributing, but Doughan remains central to almost everything.
Against Lorrha, the game was there.
Moneygall were level repeatedly.
They were still level around the 54th minute.
Then their scoring stopped.
Four late wides contributed to a total of 14 wides.
Lorrha did the opposite.
Colm Fogarty scored.
Conor Kennedy scored.
Kennedy then finished the game with the decisive goal.
That is the sort of sequence that often defines championship seasons.
There is also the Joe Fogarty concern.
He went off with a calf issue against Lorrha.
His presence changes Moneygall’s attack.
He can win difficult ball.
He brings others into play.
He provides a direct option when structured build-up fails.
Without him, even more pressure moves towards Doughan.
Round 3 is now straightforward.
Burgess.
Qualification on the line.
Moneygall’s defence versus Burgess’s attack.
One side has conceded one goal in two matches.
The other has scored six.
This is exactly the type of game Moneygall need to prove their championship credentials.
Hold Burgess below 20 and they will have every chance.
Allow Nealon and the supporting runners to create green flags and Moneygall may not possess the firepower to chase.
The bottom line: One of the best defences in the championship keeps them high. They now need their attack to win them a pressure game.
7. Boherlahan-Dualla
Previous ranking: 4
Movement: Down 3
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 48
Average scored: 24.0
Conceded: 44
Average conceded: 22.0
Differential: +4
Goals scored: 1
Round 3: Ballina
Do not judge Boherlahan simply by the defeat to Golden.
They scored 0-25.
Twenty-five points.
That wins most Premier Intermediate matches.
Golden simply found two goals.
That is the difference.
Boherlahan’s attack is actually one of the better-balanced in the championship.
Tossy Ryan has 0-15.
Euan Ryan has 0-09, all from play.
James Kirby has 0-07, again entirely from play.
Patrick Gahan has three.
Conor Fogarty has a goal among four point-equivalents.
The first three alone provide three different scoring mechanisms.
Placed balls.
Open-play running.
Support scoring.
That makes Boherlahan difficult to shut down.
The problem is goals.
One goal in two games.
Golden have five.
Moyne five.
Carrick and Burgess six.
St Mary’s three.
Lorrha three.
Moneygall three.
At some stage, points alone stop being enough.
That happened in Round 2.
Boherlahan scored 25 times.
Golden scored 24 times.
Golden won.
Why?
Two of theirs were goals.
There were still positives.
Boherlahan did a better job than Ballina of controlling Leamy and Currivan.
They made Golden work.
They refused to allow the championship’s best attack to turn the game into another demolition.
That defensive competence matters.
Round 3 against Ballina is now the opportunity.
Ballina improved significantly last time out, so this is not the straightforward fixture it appeared to be after Round 1.
Boherlahan need to create more threat inside.
Tossy Ryan can keep the scoreboard moving.
Euan Ryan and James Kirby can score from play.
But somewhere in the championship they need one or two players to start finding the net.
If that happens, Boherlahan’s profile changes dramatically.
The bottom line: Balanced, organised and scoring enough points. The missing ingredient is obvious, goals.
6. Gortnahoe-Glengoole
Previous ranking: 13
Movement: Up 7
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Drawn 1
Scoring: 46
Average scored: 23.0
Conceded: 39
Average conceded: 19.5
Differential: +7
Goals scored: 4
Round 3: Seán Treacys
One of the biggest movers.
And maybe the team we got most wrong after Round 1.
A 2-17 to 2-17 draw against Moyne-Templetuohy looked like a mediocre result at the time.
Now look at what Moyne have done since.
That draw has aged very well.
Then Gortnahoe beat the North champions 2-17 to 1-13.
That was not a smash-and-grab.
They were the better team.
Keane Hayes looked back to his devastating best.
He has 2-09 across the two rounds, with 2-07 from play.
Only Jack Leamy has generated a higher point-equivalent total from open play.
Damien Corbett has 0-14.
Ronan Teehan has seven point-equivalents, including a goal.
Those three provide a very clear attacking structure.
Hayes attacks.
Corbett converts.
Teehan provides the third threat.
The defence is the major reason for the rise.
Only Killenaule have conceded less than the 39 point-equivalents allowed by Gortnahoe and Moneygall.
Silvermines scored just 1-13 against them.
Jason Forde still scored heavily.
Everyone else was controlled.
That is intelligent defending.
The vulnerability is concentration of scoring.
Hayes and Corbett have contributed 29 of the team’s 46 point-equivalents.
If an opponent can frustrate Hayes without fouling, Gortnahoe will need more from the supporting attack.
But they are moving in the right direction.
The supplementary draft said Gortnahoe had been one of the dodgiest placements after Round 1.
Fair.
They answered it.
Round 3 against Seán Treacys can complete the turnaround.
Gortnahoe’s defence is conceding 19.5.
Treacys’ is conceding 31.5.
That is a huge statistical gap.
Nothing guarantees the result because Treacys possess serious attacking talent.
But the current overall profile makes Gortnahoe the healthier team.
The bottom line: Excellent defensive numbers and one of the most dangerous open-play forwards in the grade. Nobody will be rushing to draw them if they qualify.
5. St Mary’s Clonmel
Previous ranking: 8
Movement: Up 3
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Scoring: 48
Average scored: 24.0
Conceded: 49
Average conceded: 24.5
Differential: -1
Goals scored: 3
Round 3: Thurles Sarsfields B
The biggest attacking turnaround between the rounds.
Round 1:
1-13.
Round 2:
2-26.
That is an increase from 16 point-equivalents to 32.
Double.
St Mary’s looked suffocated by Killenaule.
Against Carrick, they looked liberated.
Peter McGarry was central.
He now has 0-14 across the championship.
Harry Lawlor has eight point-equivalents, including a goal.
Conor Deeley has four.
Cathal Deeley has a goal.
Séamus Kennedy scored their Round 1 goal.
The attacking spread is suddenly much healthier.
Of course, Carrick’s defensive record has to be acknowledged.
They have been conceding heavily to everybody.
But 2-26 is still 2-26.
You have to put the ball over the bar.
St Mary’s did it 26 times.
Their South championship is also relevant.
This is a side that already proved it can survive a high-pressure divisional final and finish the job.
Now they have shown they can win a county shootout.
That versatility is valuable.
The downside?
They conceded 3-21 themselves.
Their defensive average of 24.5 is not yet where a serious county contender would want it.
The attack bailed them out in Round 2.
That is unlikely to be a sustainable knockout formula.
Round 3 against Thurles Sarsfields is one of the games of the weekend.
South champions against Mid champions.
Both have a preliminary-quarter-final route guaranteed.
The winner, however, can take the much cleaner path.
A draw also suits St Mary’s better in the group equation.
That gives them a small strategic advantage.
Sarsfields need a response.
St Mary’s arrive with momentum.
It should be fascinating.
The bottom line: The South champions have shown two completely different sides to themselves. Round 2 revealed an attacking ceiling we did not see in the opener.
4. Moyne-Templetuohy
Previous ranking: 12
Movement: Up 8
Record: Played 2, Won 1, Drawn 1
Scoring: 58
Average scored: 29.0
Conceded: 47
Average conceded: 23.5
Differential: +11
Goals scored: 5
Round 3: Silvermines
What a transformation.
Moyne’s Round 1 draw against Gortnahoe looked solid.
Their Round 2 performance looked terrifying.
Moyne-Templetuohy 3-26 Seán Treacys 1-21.
Thirty-five point-equivalents.
The biggest attacking output of the county championship so far.
More importantly, almost everything came through open play.
The returning Gearóid O’Connor has changed the shape of the attack.
His return after his spell in New York has effectively given Moyne a major championship player midway through the summer.
He can break through the centre.
Draw defenders.
Release runners.
Score himself.
And the knock-on effect has been enormous.
Conor Bowe now has 0-10, all from play.
Finn Jones has 3-02.
Cormac Deegan has 0-10.
O’Connor has already accumulated a significant return from only one county appearance.
The cumulative sheet credits him with 11 point-equivalents after Round 2.
There is a discrepancy between that scorer sheet and one match-report total for O’Connor, so we are not pretending certainty where it does not exist.
What is beyond dispute is his impact.
Moyne suddenly have multiple players that demand defensive attention.
Mark Bowe tightly and Jones can damage you inside.
Collapse around Jones and O’Connor can run.
Pressure O’Connor and Deegan or Bowe can exploit the space.
Tristan Kelly also added three from the bench.
Kieran Larkin has contributed.
Ben Moore has a goal.
This is no longer a narrow attacking structure.
That is why Moyne have gone from 12th to fourth.
And their Round 1 draw now looks much better because Gortnahoe have since moved strongly upwards too.
The concern is defence.
23.5 conceded is acceptable.
Not elite.
Moyne may need to keep scoring in the high 20s if they meet one of the stronger knockout attacks.
But right now their offensive ceiling is second only to Golden.
Round 3 brings Silvermines.
That is an uncomfortable fixture for any side because Jason Forde can keep a scoreboard moving almost alone.
But Silvermines have conceded 26.5 per game.
That is not where you want to be when facing Moyne in this form.
The bottom line: Maybe the most frightening attacking development in the grade. Gearóid O’Connor’s return has changed the geometry of the entire team.
3. Lorrha-Dorrha
Previous ranking: 6
Movement: Up 3
Record: Played 2, Won 2
Scoring: 50
Average scored: 25.0
Conceded: 40
Average conceded: 20.0
Differential: +10
Goals scored: 3
Group position: Group 3 winners
Round 3: Templederry Kenyons
No noise.
No drama.
Just wins.
Lorrha may be the most mature team in this championship.
Against Burgess, the first plan stopped working.
Burgess took control after half-time.
Lorrha changed.
Eoin McIntyre moved towards midfield.
The centre of the game changed with him.
Lorrha recovered and won.
Against Moneygall, the challenge was completely different.
There was no major deficit.
No tactical emergency.
Just an extremely tight championship match that remained level deep into the final quarter.
Then Lorrha finished better.
Colm Fogarty.
Conor Kennedy.
And finally Kennedy’s goal.
1-02 unanswered at the finish.
Game over.
Group won.
Quarter-final secured.
That ability to win different types of games is probably the strongest argument for Lorrha being this high.
Their scorer distribution reinforces it.
Colm Fogarty leads with 0-15.
David Sullivan has seven point-equivalents.
Conor Kennedy seven.
Eoin McIntyre seven.
Donnacha O’Meara five.
Christopher Fogarty four.
Niall McIntyre two.
Who exactly do you stop?
Fogarty?
Fine.
McIntyre carries.
Protect the middle?
Kennedy can hurt you inside.
Conor Kennedy’s return against Moneygall was 1-02.
Eoin McIntyre’s 0-04 only tells part of his influence.
His ability to alter the match structurally has been enormous.
The defence is also operating at 20.0 conceded per game.
Only three teams are better.
That gives Lorrha the exact type of profile that tends to survive knockout hurling.
The Round 3 fixture against Templederry is now effectively a free shot.
That is useful.
Lorrha can manage bodies.
Keep momentum.
Experiment if required.
And prepare for the quarter-final.
There is now a bigger conversation around them.
Could their stay at Premier Intermediate be a short one?
There is still a long distance between being a good group-stage team and winning a county title.
But Lorrha look comfortable at this level.
More than comfortable.
The bottom line: Tactical flexibility, scoring spread, a strong defence and two wins from two. Quietly one of the most convincing teams in the championship.
2. Golden-Kilfeacle
Previous ranking: 7
Movement: Up 5
Record: Played 2, Won 2
Scoring: 60
Average scored: 30.0
Conceded: 45
Average conceded: 22.5
Differential: +15
Goals scored: 5
Group position: Group 4 winners
Round 3: Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill
They are not playing like a promoted team.
They are playing like one of the favourites to win the championship.
The 2025 Intermediate champions have moved up a grade and immediately produced the best attacking numbers in Premier Intermediate.
Sixty point-equivalents.
Thirty per game.
Five goals.
A +15 differential.
No team matches that combination.
Round 1 was the explosion.
3-23 against Ballina.
Jack Leamy scored 2-06.
Ben Currivan scored 0-13.
Golden were almost untouchable.
Round 2 was more important.
Boherlahan made them fight.
And Golden had to do it after Jack Leamy went off injured during the first half.
That is critical context.
Leamy had just produced one of the best individual open-play performances of the opening round.
Losing him could easily have destabilised a newly promoted side.
It did not.
Ben Currivan assumed even more responsibility.
Golden still scored 2-22.
Currivan now sits on 1-25, joint top of the championship scoring list.
His open-play return is also excellent, with 1-08 credited from play.
Leamy has 3-06 from play across the two rounds.
Éanna Ormond has five point-equivalents.
Padraig Dalton, Andy Byrnes, Sam Hall, Eoin Marnane and others have all added smaller contributions.
That Round 2 result may actually tell us more about Golden than the Ballina demolition.
We knew they could score when Leamy and Currivan were destroying a defence.
Now we know they can survive when one of those weapons is removed.
That is championship development.
The defence has also quietly performed well.
Only one goal conceded across two rounds.
That can get overlooked because of everything happening at the other end.
Golden have already secured top spot.
That is an extraordinary achievement for a team coming directly from Intermediate.
Round 3 against Éire Óg is the third meeting between the West rivals this summer.
One win each.
Golden won the West group meeting.
Éire Óg won the final after extra-time.
Now Golden enter with less pressure and perhaps a question over Leamy’s availability.
They do not need the result.
Éire Óg probably need the performance more.
But the bigger picture is already clear.
Golden are not simply adapting to Premier Intermediate.
They are threatening to win it.
The bottom line: Best attack, best scoring differential and already safely into a quarter-final. The 2025 Intermediate champions are very real contenders.
1. The New Benchmark
We said at the beginning that we would not give away the identity of the new No. 1.
Now we have reached them.
1. Killenaule
Previous ranking: 3
Movement: Up 2
Record: Played 2, Won 2
Scoring: 46
Average scored: 23.0
Conceded: 34
Average conceded: 17.0
Differential: +12
Goals scored: 2
Group position: Group 2 winners
Round 3: Carrick Swan
Killenaule do not have the best attack in the championship.
They do not have the leading scorer.
They do not have one forward sitting close to 20 points.
They are No. 1 because they currently have something more valuable.
Control.
St Mary’s scored 1-13 against them.
Thurles Sarsfields scored 0-18.
Thirty-four point-equivalents conceded across two matches.
Seventeen per game.
Best in the championship.
By distance.
Just one goal conceded.
And consider the opposition.
St Mary’s are South champions.
Thurles Sarsfields are Mid champions.
Killenaule have beaten both.
That is the strongest two-game résumé in the competition.
Round 1 was not spectacular.
0-19 to 1-13.
But it was controlled.
Eight different players scored.
Round 2 was the statement.
Killenaule 2-21 Thurles Sarsfields 0-18.
They dismantled the team we had ranked No. 1.
The most interesting statistic in the entire Killenaule profile is the leading-scorer total.
Tom Stakelum leads them with nine point-equivalents.
Nine.
Ben Currivan has 28 for Golden.
Paddy Carey has 28 for Treacys.
Jason Forde 26.
Calum Lanigan 25.
David Nealon 21.
Killenaule’s top scorer has nine.
Yet the team is averaging 23.
That is balance.
Stakelum has 2-03.
Fionn Fitzgerald 0-06.
Darragh Doyle 0-06.
Tony Ryan 0-06.
Joe O’Dwyer 0-05.
Luke Ryan 0-04.
Podge O’Dwyer 0-03.
Paudie Feehan 0-02.
Oisín Shelley 0-02.
Charlie Barrett 0-02.
Mark Stakelum 0-01.
There is no obvious player for an opponent to remove.
Stop Stakelum?
Fine.
Fitzgerald can score.
Hold Fitzgerald?
Doyle contributes.
Doyle quiet?
Ryan contributes.
That is extremely difficult to defend.
And because Killenaule are conceding so little, they do not need the Golden model of scoring 30 every week.
They do not need to live in shootouts.
They can win 0-19 to 1-13.
They can win 2-21 to 0-18.
Different scorelines.
Same control.
There is important broader context too.
Killenaule have always looked dangerous on paper.
Talent has rarely been the concern.
The question has been whether they could put everything together at championship level and sustain it.
After two rounds, the evidence is becoming difficult to ignore.
They have not needed a freak individual scoring performance.
They have not needed a late escape.
They have not relied on one forward.
They have simply beaten two divisional champions and already secured top spot.
Round 3 against Carrick Swan is almost the perfect tune-up.
Carrick have one of the best attacks in the grade.
They average 28.
Killenaule have the best defence.
They concede 17.
The group result cannot hurt Killenaule.
But the match can tell us even more about their championship credentials.
Can the best defence suppress one of the best attacks?
Do that, and the argument becomes even stronger.
The only lingering question is attacking ceiling.
Killenaule’s 23.0 average is around the championship mean.
If their defence finally has a bad day against Golden, Moyne or another elite attack, can they win a 28 or 30-point race?
We do not know yet.
But knockout championships are rarely won by being forced into races every weekend.
The ability to dictate the scoring environment is more valuable.
Right now, Killenaule are doing it better than anyone.
The old question was:
Will Killenaule ever fully deliver on their obvious potential?
After two rounds, the question has changed.
How far can they go?
The Power Rankings After Round 2
1. Killenaule
2. Golden-Kilfeacle
3. Lorrha-Dorrha
4. Moyne-Templetuohy
5. St Mary’s Clonmel
6. Gortnahoe-Glengoole
7. Boherlahan-Dualla
8. Moneygall
9. Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill
10. Thurles Sarsfields B
11. Seán Treacys
12. Burgess
13. Silvermines
14. Carrick Swan
15. Ballina
16. Templederry Kenyons
What Round 2 Has Really Told Us
The temptation with a group championship is to look only at points.
Four points good.
Two points average.
Zero points bad.
This championship is much more complicated.
Carrick Swan prove it.
They have the third-best attack in the competition.
Zero championship points.
Burgess are another example.
They sit outside our top ten despite possessing the fourth-highest scoring average and a +10 differential.
Éire Óg are the reverse.
Their county attacking output has been poor, but the West championship proved a much higher ceiling exists.
Silvermines are both a divisional champion with a knockout route and a team facing relegation.
Sarsfields are both Mid champions and the biggest fallers in these rankings.
The numbers need context.
But the numbers also tell us what should matter most as the championship moves towards knockout hurling.
Golden have the biggest offensive ceiling
Thirty point-equivalents per game.
Five goals.
Currivan and Leamy.
Even when Leamy went off against Boherlahan, Golden kept scoring.
That is frightening.
Moyne may have the deepest emerging attack
The return of Gearóid O’Connor has changed everything.
Bowe.
Jones.
Deegan.
O’Connor.
Supporting runners.
A 3-26 performance from a team still developing combinations.
That is serious.
Lorrha may have the best problem-solving ability
They changed tactically against Burgess.
They finished better against Moneygall.
Two completely different matches.
Same outcome.
Killenaule possess the most sustainable defensive profile
Only 34 conceded.
One goal.
St Mary’s and Sarsfields beaten.
That is not a soft schedule.
It is elite defending.
Carrick are the great warning
Scoring alone does not make a contender.
Six goals.
28 per game.
Zero points.
Silvermines and Treacys are heavily dependent on elite scorers
Forde has 26 of Silvermines’ 44 point-equivalents.
Carey has 28 of Treacys’ 54.
Both are brilliant.
Both teams need more around them.
Boherlahan need goals
0-25 should win.
Against Golden it did not.
One goal in two games will eventually become a ceiling.
Éire Óg need their West attack back
4-28 in a West final.
0-35 across two county games.
That is the biggest unexplained attacking drop in the championship.
Round 3: Where Everything Stands
The final group weekend is now split between teams playing for very different things.
Already in control
Killenaule
Group 2 secured.
Lorrha-Dorrha
Group 3 secured.
Golden-Kilfeacle
Group 4 secured.
Those three can begin thinking about quarter-finals.
That does not mean they can switch off.
Momentum matters.
But the pressure is completely different.
Fighting for qualification
Gortnahoe-Glengoole v Seán Treacys
One of the most significant matches in Group 1.
Gortnahoe arrive with the better defensive profile.
Treacys arrive with the greater volatility.
St Mary’s v Thurles Sarsfields B
South champions against Mid champions.
Both have divisional fallback routes.
The winner takes the better road.
Burgess v Moneygall
Perhaps the purest stylistic battle.
Burgess attack.
Moneygall defence.
Winner takes a major step forward.
Ballina v Boherlahan-Dualla
Ballina’s Round 2 comeback has kept them alive.
Boherlahan still look the stronger overall team.
Playing with different pressure
Moyne-Templetuohy v Silvermines
Moyne can strengthen their qualification position.
Silvermines need form before the preliminary quarter-final and relegation battles.
Carrick Swan v Killenaule
Killenaule are through.
Carrick are bottom.
But no Carrick-Killenaule game is meaningless.
Lorrha-Dorrha v Templederry Kenyons
Lorrha have won the group.
Templederry are headed towards relegation.
Momentum is the prize.
Éire Óg Annacarty-Donohill v Golden-Kilfeacle
The third meeting of the summer.
One win each.
Golden already through.
Éire Óg desperate to rediscover the attack that won the West.
Final Word
Two rounds have told us plenty.
Not enough to know who will lift the Seamus O Riain Cup.
But enough to completely rewrite the hierarchy.
The newly promoted champions are already one of the most dangerous teams in the grade.
A North side is quietly through without dropping a point.
A Mid team has suddenly become an attacking monster.
The South champions are back.
The Mid champions have been dragged back into the pack.
Two recent county finalists are heading towards relegation.
And the new team at the top of the rankings have got there in the least glamorous but perhaps most sustainable way of all:
Defending.
Sharing the scoring burden.
Winning.
There is still a long championship ahead.
But for the first time in 2026, the contenders are beginning to separate themselves from the teams merely surviving.
Round 3 will tell us whether that separation is real.