Gaelic Football Power Rankings: Ranking The 16 Teams Competing For Sam Maguire

Now that we have our four provincial champions decided it's time to get down to brass tax.

The race for the All-Ireland is well and truly upon us and now it's time to give you our Sam Maguire power rankings going into this weekend's opening group matches.

It's important to remember that these rankings aren't just a carbon copy of the spring's league tables, or totally reliant on the weekend's results, but are hinged on current form, potential, and how high their ceiling could rise in the race for Sam Maguire.

Galway have been in two of the last three All-Ireland finals and they'll go very close again.

The sheer size of Galway's middle eight is enough to leave most goalkeepers feeling the pressure at the thought of having to kick it out among them.

The form of reigning footballer of the year and Benjamin Button impersonator Paul Conroy is a sight to behold.

Corner-back Johnny McGrath looks like he'd relish the job of marking any forward in the country right now.

The fitness of Shane Walsh and Damien Comer is a worry but should they get Walsh and Comer back it will take an excellent team to stop them.

The return to the fold of Peter Cooke is also a massive boost and could turn out to be the icing on top of Padráic Joyce's maroon and white cake.

With the talk of it being the most open All-Ireland in years, it stands to reason that Kerry would just go ahead and win it despite all the fuss.

We've been burned here before though, they were seen as clear favourites heading into last year's clash with Armagh and when leading by five they fell apart.

We can draw no conclusions from the facile Munster final but with the more open nature of Gaelic football in 2025 Kerry's preferred kicking style has come to the fore. With the Cliffords, the Geaneys, Seán O'Shea and more they have the artillery but do they have enough men out the field to supply the ammunition.

They will need big performances from Joe O'Connor and a return to fitness for Diarmuid O'Connor to give them that platform.

A thrilling Ulster final win will have Donegal bouncing into the group stages.

They looked electric at times in Clones and even when Armagh hit them with all they had Donegal showed the resolve of potential champions to keep going and get over the line.

With Jim McGuinness at the helm there is always the idea that Jim has a rabbit in his hat and maybe he does. Even without that hypothetical rabbit, the form of Ciaran Moore, Peadar Mogan and the omnipresent Michael Murphy gives them a serious chance of reclaiming Sam for the first time in thirteen years.

Armagh will be reeling after Saturday night's Ulster final defeat.

The crucial factor is they've been here before. Floored last year and written off they did bounce back so who's to say they won't again.

The returning Rian O'Neill will surely have something to say before the season is out.

They have probably not been given the respect their exploits from last year deserve and will be hell-bent on proving the remaining doubters wrong.

The displays from Oisín Conaty and Ethan Rafferty have been All-Star worthy so far.

Nobody will want to play Armagh and they'll fear nobody in their bid to win the All-Ireland title back-to-back.

This doesn't look right having Dublin this low but here we are.

The swathe of winter departures coupled with some late returners meant that Dublin were very up and down in Division One, particularly away from home before the bombshell loss to Meath in Leinster.

Dessie Farrell tried to frame the shock defeat as a good thing, a wake-up call. But do Dublin have the capability to wake up from this?

Of course, there is still oodles of talent in their starting fifteen but the lack of squad depth, weakness at midfield and their issues in the full-back line against Meath are big concerns.

That being said, they should still make an All-Ireland quarter-final and they appear to be a different animal in Croke Park where they know their surroundings so well.

Tyrone under Malachy O'Rourke have shown serious signs of promise sprinkled with some patches of inconsistency. They brushed Cavan aside in Ulster before clawing back a five-point deficit against Armagh only to eventually lose by one.

The age profile of the team suggests a nice mix of youth and experience and with Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry in attack they have a chance in any game.

Leaders like Padraig Hampsey, Niall Morgan and Peter Harte will be crucial as they attempt to navigate Donegal, Mayo and Cavan and make it back to Croke Park.

Mayo are a tough nut to crack these days. Questions about Aidan O'Shea's best position and their apparent lack of marquee forwards seem to have persisted for the last 15 years but here we are.

Mayo gave as good as they got in an epic Connacht final and nobody will want to face them if they hit top gear.

With the possibility of Patrick Durcan returning to bolster their ranks you wouldn't be surprised to see them giving someone the fright of their lives in a quarter-final but you also wouldn't be shocked to see them scraping by Cavan this Sunday.

The one thing that you can expect is Mayo will give as good as they get no matter who they face.

Monaghan made a living out of surviving in Division One and when they eventually slipped through the trapdoor we thought that might be it from them.

Despite the retirement of Conor McManus they have rebounded well and will fancy themselves in what some have dubbed "The group of life".

With Louth, Down and Clare on the fixture card it looks like Monaghan could be favourites for top spot. Rory Beggan, Conor McCarthy and Jack McCarron have proven to be deadly from outside the arc.

With those offensive weapons it will be up to their defenders to return the favour and you wouldn't expect the likes of Ryan Wylie, Dessie Ward and Ryan O'Toole to be found wanting.

Oh Derry, what do we do with you? From back-to-back Ulster champions in 2023 to Division One champions in spring 2024 it has all unravelled.

Make no mistake this team contains some supremely talented players in the guise of Shane McGuigan, Brendan Rogers and Conor Glass and could turn it around but it feels like they've made a habit of losing at this stage.

They've also been dealt a terrible draw, landing themselves in a group with Galway, Armagh and Dublin.

Paddy Tally's men are no soft touch but it just feels like they are still in the eye of the storm and can't find their way to a win.

Roscommon did their usual spring thing and got promoted from Division 2 without too much fuss. It has been a bit drab since then though with a league-final loss to Monaghan and a meek enough defeat at the hands of Galway in Connacht.

Davy Burke's team possess some of the tidiest forwards in the game with the Murtaghs, Daire Cregg and Ben O'Carroll and they will worry even the best of defences if given enough supply.

The Rossies struggled aerially against Galway and will have to find a way of winning primary possession at kick-out time to make an impression on the Sam Maguire.

They'll be targeting second place in Group 2.

Louth people will forever remember May 10th 2025 and for that, this team will forever be heroes. Sunday's Leinster final win was the result of many years of work and incremental improvements by the Wee County.

Will that prove to be a peak or will this red wave continue to rise into the All-Ireland series?

Sam Mulroy's free and Craig Lennon's wonder goal are already in the history books but as they face into Monaghan, Down and Clare they will believe that they should be reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final and you wouldn't bet against them.

Their round 1 clash with Monaghan should decide who tops this group and progresses automatically to the last eight.

Meath will be heartbroken following Sunday's Leinster final defeat and how they react will tell us a lot about what this team may become. Despite controlling large periods of the first half they gave away crucial goals and faded badly.

They only scored once in the final 22 minutes allowing Louth to take over and pip them late on. They survived the turmoil of losing coaches Joe McMahon and Martin Corey a week out from the beginning of the championship but will this prove to be the straw that broke the royal camel's back?

The return of forward Jordan Morris is heartening but with a relatively young team it could prove tough to lift them from this sickening defeat in time for Cork in less than a fortnight.

Cork showed huge fight in a big home performance against Kerry in Munster and will have to reach that level again as they face the old enemy again along with Roscommon and a wounded Meath.

Chris Óg Jones' scoring form will give opposing defences plenty of food for thought as will Brian O'Driscoll's runs from deep but their inconsistency as a team may come back to bite them.

Cork have been improving under John Cleary and will look to make it back to Croke Park as they did in 2023 but it would be surprising to see them progress beyond a preliminary quarter-final without the right draw.

Down were unlucky to be relegated from Division Two on six points. Having finished level on points with Louth and with a better score difference it was the head-to-head rule that did for Conor Laverty's troops.

This relegation hangover nearly cost them dearly as they needed two late goals to defeat Fermanagh in Ulster before succumbing manfully to Donegal in a Clones.

Pat Havern's flair for two-pointers is a massive threat along with the power of Odhran Murdock and Daniel Guinness around the middle means the Mourne men will prove to be tricky customers in a wide-open group 3.

Cavan began Division Two slowly with early defeats against Monaghan and Meath but rallied well and only for a final day defeat to Cork when a draw would have done would have secured promotion. A seven point defeat to Tyrone in the opening round of Ulster has left them over a month without competitive action.

Whether Raymond Galligan's men will be well-rested or lacking sharpness against a more battle-hardened Mayo, a repeat pairing with Tyrone and Donegal remains to be seen.

They'll need big performances from the likes of Gearóid McKiernan, Padraig Faulkner and Dara McVeety to gain the points needed to progress. Qualification possibly a bridge too far for the Breffni county.

Peter Keane's men are the only team to play their league football outside of the top two divisions in 2025 which should count against them. They also have the quirk of the geography of the provincial system to thank for their progression to this stage. They only had to beat Division Four Tipperary to reach what was a very one-sided Munster final.

The draw has been relatively kind to them and with this format, one victory could be enough. A huge opening game at home to Down is their best chance of picking up points. That being said with players like Emmett McMahon, Eoin Cleary and Mark McInerney Clare will not be an easy proposition for the teams in group three.