Senior status the reward for the winner in Colt this afternoon

IT is might an old cliché, but a true one – this is one of those finals no team wants to lay.

This after noon Castletown and Portlaoise meet in Colt, and the outcome will be of huge importance – the winner retains their senior status, the loser drops to Premier Intermediate for 2026.

Few, if anyone would have predicted this pairing at the start of the championship.

Twelve months ago Portlaoise made it as far as the quarter-final where they lost out to St Lazarian’s Abbeyleix. Castletown made their exit after a third round loss to Rathdowney/Errill.

THE stakes were high when this pair met at Rathleague in round seven of the ACHL Division 1. Last time out the two had different fortunes. Portlaoise suffered a big loss away to Camross while Castletown made the journey to the Harps in search of a first brace of points. With five minutes remaining they trailed by five points, then put in a storming finish to claim a valuable brace of points on a 2-15 to 0-19 scoreline.

In the opening round of the championship Portlaoise appeared to have produced the shock of the weekend when they came roaring back from a four point injury time deficit against Camross.

But it wasn’t as simple as that. Camross led from the 11th minute right up to the 63rd minute. Then there was controversy as referee Brian Farrell had the scored noted as 5-12 to 2-22, but many had Camross finishing with 5-13 meaning the game ended in a draw.

Later on Sunday evening Laois GAA confirmed that the game finished in a draw, the final score being Portlaoise 2-22 Camross 5-13.

Castletown started their championship on the back foot when losing out to reigning champions, Clough/Ballacolla by ten points. From the start they were under pressure.

Portlaoise followed up their impressive comeback draw against Camross with a fantastic victory over The Harps in Round 2 with a goal to spare.

In their second round Castletown suffered from a remarkable late comeback from Abbeyleix, coming from seven points down with 15 minutes remaining, to secure a draw.

Just when they thought they were getting their act together Portlaoise self-imploded and lost their next three games to Borris/Kilcotton, today’s opponents Castletown and Rathdowney/Errill. They then went down to Abbeyleix in the SHC ‘B’ semi-final.

Castletown were stunned when losing to Rosenallis in round three but will bring confidence into this afternoon’s game after overturning a four point deficit to claim a vital victory over Portlaoise in their next game. However, that was as good as it got Castletown who lost out by a point to Ballinakill before getting a hammering from The Harps in the ‘B’ semi-final.

So who will be playing Senior next year?

Portlaoise have looked the more competitive but Castletown know they have beaten them once this campaign, and will want to do it a second time.