Preview: Tipperary v Dublin

Dublin are the National League champions and beat Tipperary in their only competitive meeting this year. Can they cause another upset on Sunday?

By Shane Breslin

The match: Tipperary v Dublin

Where and when: Croke Park, Sunday, 3.30pm

The plot: Dublin have won a national title this year and beat Tipperary when they last met in a competitive fixture – so why are they 9/1 outsiders this weekend?

Well, the answer is because they probably deserve to be.  For while Tipp have steadily been building up a head of steam all year, culminating in that most emphatic of all Munster finals against Waterford, the Dubs have fallen off from their spring peaks as inexperience and injury takes hold.

Dublin enjoyed a narrow but fully deserved victory over Tipp at Croke Park in the National League, and were hugely impressive in routing Kilkenny in the final of that competition.

However, with Anthony Daly’s squad having been buffeted by injury ever since – Oisín Gough, David Treacy, Conal Keaney, Stephen Hiney and Tomas Brady are all ruled out by various problems – the wind has really been taken from their sails and they needed three goals from Ryan O’Dwyer to edge out Limerick in the quarter-final a few weeks back.

Tipp have a goal hero of their own in Lar Corbett, who has scored seven goals in his last two finals – three in last year’s All-Ireland, four against Waterford in the Munster decider last month – but there is plenty more quality alongside him, with Eoin Kelly, Noel McGrath, Seamus Callanan and John O’Brien all likely to put up big scores on any given day.

Further back in the Tipp side, there's precious little comfort for the Dubs - Gearoid Ryan has been brilliant since his move to midfield, Shane McGrath has been as good as ever, Padraic Maher could be a Hurler of the Year prospect and the full back line of Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran and Michael Cahill is the same one that rebuffed Kilkenny's Drive for Five a year ago.

Team news:

Tipperary: Brendan Cummins; Paddy Stapleton, Paul Curran, Michael Cahill; John O'Keeffe, Conor O'Mahony, Padraic Maher; Gearóid Ryan, Shane McGrath; Noel McGrath, Seamus Callanan, Patrick Maher; Eoin Kelly, John O'Brien, Lar Corbett.

Dublin: Gary Maguire; Niall Corcoran, Peter Kelly, Paul Schutte; Michael Carton, Joey Boland, Shane Durkin; Alan McCrabbe, Johnny McCaffrey; Conor McCormack, Ryan O'Dwyer, Liam Rushe; David O'Callaghan, Liam Ryan, Paul Ryan.

Star man (Tipperary): Look no further than Hurler of the Year Lar Corbett. It’s been ten years since he burst on the scene and he’s got better and better and better ever since. Completely unmarkable on his day. And these days, his day seems to be every day.

Lar Corbett ... Unmarkable

Star man (Dublin): All attention will be on Ryan O’Dwyer, the former Cashel King Cormacs man who has pitched up in the capital and become a key member of the Dublin collective this year. His hat-trick in the semi-final was exceptional, but for the Dubs to cause a massive upset against his fellow countymen, you get the feeling he’ll have to repeat the dose on Sunday.

JOE’s verdict: This is the day that the Dub ship runs aground. Tipp, maybe by as much as ten.