Cats and Galway will be the big winners
Let’s start with Limerick and Wexford. This is a huge game for the Shannonsiders who impressed me hugely in their Munster championship display against Waterford.
Add to that the fact Wexford are seen as the easier side of the draw (Limerick could have got Galway), and the expectations become even greater on Donal O’Grady and company.
They’ll be well tested in the Gaelic Grounds this evening. The visitors have had the experience of playing Division One hurling all year, though much of that advantage is gone. With home advantage, and the display in their championship outing, I fancy Limerick.
To Galway and Clare. The biggest problem here for Clare is their defence. They scored 1-19 in their loss to Tipperary, but they conceded 4-19. That won’t win you any match at this level.
There’s huge pressure on Galway, however, after their loss to Dublin and the subsequent fallout.
They’re going to be out to prove something in Salthill, and I fear for Clare — who better to make your statement against than the neighbours, especially at a time when they’re starting to get a bit uppity?
Again, I think home venue is going to make a difference — Galway to win.
To the showpiece of the weekend, tomorrow’s Leinster final between Kilkenny and Dublin in Croke Park.
That game is going to tell us so much — how far Dublin hurling has come in the world and how far back Kilkenny has gone, if at all. Looking at the two semi-finals, we didn’t get any kind of answer to either of those two questions, but what we did learn is that there are problems in both teams.
I don’t have the Kilkenny team at the time of writing, but I’m expecting that Tommy Walsh will be back, and that Jackie Tyrell will be much improved — he got some roasting from Rory Jacob in the Wexford game.
Paul Murphy should hold his place, as should Paddy Hogan, two of the better defenders for Kilkenny against Wexford — could we see Tommy Walsh in the corner at some stage? Whoever is in there, I expect changes in that Kilkenny defence given their display in the semi-final.
In midfield, Kilkenny will be as powerful as ever, with Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, but the Kilkenny forwards are the key — can Dublin contain Henry, TJ Reid, Richie Hogan, Richie Power, Eoin Larkin, Eddie Brennan?
These are forwards that can beat you in 10 minutes. Henry taking to the field is a huge factor for Kilkenny. His presence is immense — in fact at this stage I’d say he’s nearly more of an influence on the team than Brian Cody.
I just wonder though — is Croke Park the venue for this Kilkenny team anymore? They lost the All-Ireland there last year and then lost to Dublin there in the league final.
To Dublin, and the one thing I notice about their players, any of them that’s interviewed seem to be full of confidence.
There’s a maturity about them. Dotsy O’Callaghan, Liam Rushe, Conal Keaney, Paul Ryan, Peter Kelly, Shane Durkin, Oisin Gough, all seem to trust in their own abilities.
I like the fact that they’re willing to have a go too, from anywhere on the field. Yes they’re hitting a lot of wides, but they’re taking a lot of shots, and they keep taking them. You have to admire that.
In the Leinster final two years ago Dublin’s main aim seemed to be to keep the score down, to limit Kilkenny, perhaps to limit the margin of defeat.
That’s not the case with them this year and while they still have a very solid defence, they don’t seem to mind how much they concede — it’s what they score.
I like their physicality, their fitness levels; they hit hard, they hit often, and they keep going right to the final whistle.
So, any minus? One, they don’t score enough goals, which could be fatal tomorrow because be certain they’ll need to hit the net.
But the biggest question is whether or not Dublin can beat Kilkenny in a Leinster championship final?
We know Kilkenny can step up to the mark in all those circumstances — can Dublin? I think not.
They’ve given Kilkenny a reason to beat them, that league final defeat, and no better team than the Cats to take that reason and use it to their advantage.
