Darragh McCarthy has been named in the Tipperary team to play Laois. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Saturday, June 14
All-Ireland senior hurling championship, preliminary quarter-finals
Laois v Tipperary, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise, 1.45pm GAA+
Laois were well beaten by Kildare last Sunday at Croke Park and picking themselves up for this fixture is as challenging as it gets.
Home advantage helps, as does the knowledge that only one team coming from the Joe McDonagh Cup final has ever one this fixture - Laois, in 2019.
The likes of Padraig Delaney and Paddy Purcell played in that game and are still going strong. They went on to play Tipp in a quarter-final in 2019 and were highly competitive. So boss Tommy Fitzgerald, who has recalled defender Ryan Mullaney in his only team change, will attempt to tap into all of those positive memories.
He won't need reminding that the last time Tipp contested a preliminary quarter-final fixture, in 2023, they put a colossal 7-38 on the board against Offaly.
The Allianz league finalists are desperate to push on in the All-Ireland series after failing to qualify from the group in 2024 and have shown solid form.
Their only loss in the Munster group was to eventual champions Cork and they are chasing three Championship wins in a row for the first time since winning the All-Ireland in 2019.
Alan Tynan is back in the Tipp team after injury while there are recalls too for Joe Caesar and Seamus Kennedy.
LAOIS: Cathal Dunne; Cody Comerford, Lee Cleere, Diarmaid Conway; Ryan Mullaney, Padraig Delaney, Jordan Walshe; Fiachra C Fennell, David Dooley; Aidan Corby, Tomas Keyes, Paddy Purcell; Mark Dowling, Ben Conroy, James Keyes.
Subs: Eoin Fleming, Padraic Dunne, Donnchadh Hartnett, Tom Cuddy, Eoin Gaughan, John Lennon, Martin Phelan, Aaron Dunphy, James Duggan, PJ Scully, Colin Byrne.
TIPPERARY: Rhys Shelly; Robert Doyle, Bryan O'Mara, Michael Breen; Craig Morgan, Ronan Maher, Joe Caesar; Willie Connors, Seamus Kennedy; Alan Tynan, Andrew Ormond, Sam O'Farrell; Darragh McCarthy, John McGrath, Jason Forde.
Subs: Barry Hogan, Joe Fogarty, Sean Kenneally, Jake Morris, Peter McGarry, Brian McGrath, Noel McGrath, Oisin O'Donoghue, Johnny Ryan, Conor Stakelum, Darragh Stakelum.
Kildare v Dublin, Cedral St Conleth's Park, Newbridge, 4pm
If Kildare can conjure a performance to match the one they produced at Croke Park last Sunday, when they captured the Joe McDonagh Cup title, this will be a cracking contest.
It's a big if though. The six-day turnaround is challenging and particularly so when you've, understandably, been in party mode for the first couple of days.
Kildare manager Brian Dowling also said after the win over Laois that a number of players battled through the pain barrier with 'serious injuries'. Nevertheless, he has named an unchanged team.
Dowling will hope that Cian Boran can be as commanding again at centre-back as he was at Croke Park and that the likes of James Burke and Jack Sheridan ahead of him can deliver for a second consecutive weekend.
Dublin slipped up at this stage in 2019 so will be forewarned. They haven't played since closing their Leinster SHC campaign with back-to-back defeats to Kilkenny and Galway.
Paddy Dunleavy is recalled to Dublin's team for Conor Donohoe while Fergal Whitely and Ronan Hayes are named in attack, replacing John Hetherton and Andrew Jamieson Murphy. Donal Burke is still unavailable.
KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Richy Hogan, Rian Boran, Daniel O'Meara; Simon Leacy, Cian Boran, Paul Dolan; Daire Guerin, Cathal McCabe; James Burke, Gerry Keegan, David Qualter; Darragh Melville, Cathal Dowling, Jack Sheridan.
Subs: Mark Doyle, Jack Travers, Harry Carroll, Liam O'Reilly, Conn Kehoe, Muiris Curtin, Oisin Lynam, Killian Harrington, James Dolan, Cormac Byrne, Jack Higgins.
DUBLIN: Sean Brennan; John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Conor McHugh; Paddy Doyle, Chris Crummey, Paddy Dunleavy; Conor Burke, Brian Hayes; Rian McBride, Fergal Whitely, Darragh Power; Sean Currie, Cian O'Sullivan, Ronan Hayes.
Subs: Eddie Gibbons, Andrew Dunphy, Sean Gallagher, Daire Gray, John Hetherton, Andrew Jamieson Murphy, David Lucey, James Madden, Paul O'Dea, Diarmaid O Dulaing, Conal O Riain.
