Falling between two stools could prove decisive

After going so close last year before producing a bitterly disappointing performance in the final Trim will be considered as favourites to claim the IFC and end a nine-year exile from the top table.

Their relegation from senior football in 2011 was a huge surprise and they almost put it right the following year, but lost out to Na Fianna in the IFC final.

Between then and 2018 they were no where near claiming the Mattie McDonnell Cup, but under the guidance of former Meath goalkeeper Brendan Murphy things are improving for Trim.

Last year's final humiliation aside they were easily the best side in the competition and with an abundance of talented young players learning from that harrowing experience they should be stronger this term, but will they be distracted by other goals?

In recent years Trim have enjoyed a resurgence on the senior hurling front and with a significant number of dual players involved in both battles there is a danger, this year more than most others, of them falling between two stools.

With championship action coming thick and fast the dual clubs will be under significant pressure and Trim could be the biggest victims as they are expected to be major contenders in both the intermediate football and senior hurling.

Football games will be followed the next weekend by hurling championship and that will continue until the completion of the group stages, and with only one team from each group advancing in the IFC Trim's favouritism might be flattering.

As well as having the exertions of the SHC to contend with they have also been drawn in a ferociously difficult group against a Bective side that beat them in the championship last year and a Rathkenny team that will be eager to bounce back after their relegation from the senior ranks in 2019.

With so many big games on the horizon Trim will demand victory over Rathkenny in the opening round and with Drumbaragh to come in round two they could put themselves in with a chance, but it is later in the campaign when fatigue will undoubtedly become a factor.

Not since Duleek/Bellewstown achieved the feat in 2005 have a side recovered from losing the final to winning the title the following year - that is the task facing Trim.

Of course Trim aren't the only major contender to have to cope with fighting on two fronts.

Rathkenny will have a strong representation on the Wolfe Tones intermediate hurling squad, while Blackhall Gaels and Longwood are other dual clubs who will be contesting the SHC with realistic ambitions.

So could those distractions open the door for a side more focused on just one war?

Last year Castletown looked like a formidable outfit until the wheels came off towards the end of the campaign. Without the heavy schedule of games they could be major contenders.

St Patrick's, just like Rathkenny and Longwood, were relegated from senior football last year and they will be more than capable of bouncing back, but sometimes the hardest thing in championship football is to recover immediately after the disappointment of the drop.

Group D will end the hopes of three serious contenders before the end of the early stages with Oldcastle, Syddan, Ballinabrackey and Duleek/Bellewstown all considered to be genuine contenders.

Dunderry are another side that could find the dual club situation a challenge, but they have enough players that concentrate on one code or the other and they could be in the mix to make amends for their 2016 final disappointment.

Martin O'Connell will take charge of his adopted club Walterstown against his home club St Michael's in Group B and that could go a long way towards determining the qualifier from that section.

Just who will be victorious at the end of what is sure to be a weary battle, it's doubtful even the bookies can be certain!

If Trim can manage to negotiate the double jeopardy of fighting on two fronts then they have to be serious contenders. Of the sides without dual aspirations, you can stick a pin in them - with Castletown fancied to make the most of the tighter schedule.