Kildare on march as lifeless Laois swept aside
But they had the good fortune to meet a Laois team whose momentum seems to have slowed to a halt since some early-season promise.
Local derbies are supposed to imbue teams with vast stocks of fire and brimstone, but Kildare seemed to have a monopoly on both commodities in Newbridge. Maybe it was the surprisingly strenuous half-hour warm-up Laois were put through prior to throw-in, or maybe it was just one of those days.