Plunkett keeping Laois focused on Antrim task

He couldn’t be blamed for fancying the easier of the two Leinster championship paths, though Seamus Plunkett insists he genuinely hasn’t thought about Laois’s chances beyond next weekend.

Plunkett’s improving Laois take on Antrim in the final qualifying series game, with the winners set to be directed down the significantly more attractive side of the provincial draw. Whoever tops the new round robin group will play Wexford, fellow Division 1B opposition, while the runners up will be paired off against Galway, the 2012 Leinster winners.

Should that runner up pull off one of the great Championship surprises and actually beat Galway, a likely semi-final against Kilkenny awaits.