The 2016 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Football League, was the 85th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams. Thirty-one Gaelic football county teams from the island of Ireland, plus London, competed. Kilkenny did not participate.
Setanta and TG4 provided live coverage of the league on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, respectively. RTÉ Two broadcast a highlights programme, League Sunday, on Sunday evenings.
Dublin won their 12th title in total and their 4th in a row, defeating Kerry in the final on a score of 2–18 to 0–13.
Format
League structure The 2016 National Football League consisted of four divisions of eight teams. Each team played every other team in its division once, usually four home and three away or three home and four away. Two points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
Tie-breaker If only two teams were level on league points: The team that won the head-to-head match was ranked first If this game was a draw, score difference (total scored minus total conceded in all games) was used to rank the teams If score difference was identical, total scored was used to rank the teams If still identical, a play-off was required If three or more teams were level on points, score difference was used to rank the teams.
Finals, promotions and relegations
Division 1
The top four teams in Division 1 contest the National Football League semi-finals (first plays fourth and second plays third) with the winners progressing to the final. The bottom 2 teams are relegated to Division 2.
Division 2, Division 3 & Division 4
The top two teams in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 are promoted and contest the finals of their respective divisions. The bottom two teams in Divisions 2 and 3 are relegated.
Division 1
Table
Rounds 1 to 7
Division 1 Semi-Finals
Division 1 Final
Division 2
Table
Rounds 1 to 7
Division 2 Final
Division 3
Table
Rounds 1 to 7
Division 3 Final
Division 4
Table
Rounds 1 to 7
Division 4 Final
GK1 Craig Lynch (Naomh Máirtin)RCB2 Pádraig Rath (Dreadnots) (c)FB3 Patrick Reilly (St Bride's)LCB4 Kevin Toner (St Patrick's)RHB5 Derek Maguire (Dundalk Young Irelands)CHB6 Darren McMahon (St Mochta's)LHB7 Eoghan Lafferty (St Patrick's)MF8 James Stewart (Dundalk Gaels)MF9 James Califf (Dreadnots)RHF10 Declan Byrne (St Mochta's)CHF11 Jim McEneaney (Geraldines)LHF12 Tommy Durnin (Westerns)RCF13 Conall McKeever (Clan na Gael)FF14 Conor Grimes (Glen Emmets)LCF15 Ryan Burns (Hunterstown Rovers)Substitutes: 16 John Bingham (St Mary's) for Toner 17 Anthony Williams (Dreadnots) for Bingham (bc) 18 Ruairí Moore (O'Raghallaighs) for McMahon 19 Gerard McSorley (Dundalk Gaels) for Burns GK1 Chris Kerr (St Gall's)RCB2 Niall Delargy (Roger Casements)FB3 Conor Burke (St Gall's)LCB4 Richard Johnston (Creggan)RHB5 Kevin O'Boyle (Cargin)CHB6 Martin Johnston (Creggan)LHB7 James Laverty (Cargin)MF8 Niall McKeever (Roger Casements)MF9 Michael McCann (Cargin)RHF10 Conor Murray (Lámh Dhearg) CHF11 Kevin Niblock (St Gall's) (c)LHF12 John Carron (Cargin)RCF13 Brian Neeson (St John's)FF14 Matthew Fitzpatrick (St John's)LCF15 Tomás McCann (Cargin)Substitutes: 16 Ryan Murray (Lámh Dhearg) for Neeson 17 Patrick McBride (St John's) for Carron 18 Dermot McAleese (Roger Casements) for Fitzpatrick 19 Mark Sweeney (St Jude's, Dublin) for Laverty 20 Justin Crozier (Cargin) for Burke
Statistics All scores correct as of 25 April 2016
Scoring First goal of the league: Ryan McHugh for Donegal against Down (Div 1, Rd 1) Widest winning margin: 23 points Wexford 4–20 – 1–6 London (Div 4, Rd 3) Most goals in a match: 7 Cork 3–10 – 4–25 Roscommon (Div 1, Rd 3) Most points in a match: 36 Clare 2–17 – 1–19 Kildare (Div 3 Final) Most goals by one team in a match: 5 Laois 1–22 – 5–11 Derry (Div 2, Rd 5) Highest aggregate score: 58 points Wexford 4–23 – 3–14 Wicklow (Div 4, Rd 5) Lowest aggregate score: 16 points Fermanagh 0–10 – 0–06 Meath (Div 2, Rd 2) Mayo 0–07 – 0–09 Dublin (Div 1, Rd 2)
Top scorers Overall Rank Player CountyTally Total Matches Average 1Conor McManus Monaghan2–43 49 7 7.0 2Donal Shanley Wexford0–44 44 7 6.3 3David Tubridy Clare1–40 43 8 5.4Dean Rock Dublin1–40 43 9 4.8Ciarán Murtagh Roscommon4–31 43 8 5.4 6Tomás Corrigan Fermanagh1–38 41 7 5.9 7Niall Murphy Sligo0–40 40 7 5.7Tomas McCann Antrim2–34 40 8 5.0Mickey Newman Meath4–28 40 7 5.7 10Stefan Campbell Armagh2–32 38 6 6.3 11Michael Murphy Donegal1–33 36 8 4.5Patrick McBrearty Donegal1–33 36 8 4.5 13John Heslin Westmeath1–31 34 7 4.9Eoin Cleary Clare2–28 34 8 4.3 15Ian Ryan Limerick0–33 33 7 4.7 16Ronan O'Neill Tyrone2–25 31 8 3.9 Single game Rank Player CountyTally Total Opposition 1Tomás Corrigan Fermanagh 1–11 14 Laois 2Conor McManus Monaghan 0–12 12 DublinStefan Campbell Armagh 1–09 12 Galway 4Tomas McCann Antrim 1–08 11 LeitrimColm O'Neill Cork 1–08 11 MonaghanDean Rock Dublin 1–08 11 RoscommonConor McManus Monaghan 1–08 11 MayoPatrick Hurney Waterford 2–05 11 CarlowBen Brosnan Wexford 2–05 11 Wicklow 10Darragh Foley Carlow 0–10 10 WicklowNiall Murphy Sligo 0–10 10 KildareMickey Newman Meath 1–07 10 Tyrone
References
External links Full Fixtures and Results