Contrasting moods as Offaly and Laois go again

We’re still digesting three finals from last week, while this week throws up two games which should be foregone conclusions. After the McDonagh Cup final, Laois have to lick their wounds and Offaly have to put away their party balloons.

Hurling Nation has two distinct hopes, one for each team. Offaly have a group of very young and skilful players who still need a bit of meat on them. We hope promotion to the Leinster Championship has not come a year too early. One of the flaws in this current system is seeing a team like Carlow making progress but only getting one season at the higher grade – and then having to regroup back in the Joe McDonagh dogfight.

As for Laois, they amount of wides they ran up last week will haunt them but they look like a team that are still growing into their potential. Hopefully this weekend they will recall the afternoon in Portlaoise in 2019 when they became the first and only McDonagh finalist to win at this stage of the competition.

Last Saturday in the expansive arena of Croke Park, Kilkenny roamed the field with the untamed grace of panthers prowling their territory. In stark contrast, Dublin seemed constrained, moving with the cautious steps of cubs exploring unfamiliar terrain.

On Sunday in the Munster final, when the GAA finally put a few bob in the electricity meter, Clare and Limerick added another chapter to their strange relationship. The Banner must wonder how much of it is psychological; they study each defeat to make sure it won’t happen again. Sometimes Limerick show up with a new way to beat Clare and other times the Treaty men used the same type of sucker-punch.

So to this weekend’s short menu of hurling in the midlands.

Offaly stretch a memorable summer 70 minutes further when Cork come to Tullamore. It’s no insult to Offaly to say that Cork are further down the tracks developmentally. When it comes to experience and the sharpness of a Munster campaign, Cork have a stronger hand. Both teams carry momentum but Offaly have little, if anything, left to prove this year and a reality check could be on the order. Cork to push on to the next round where a shell-shocked Dublin lie in wait.

In Portlaoise, you would expect the margin to be tighter. The last time Laois beat Wexford in the Leinster Championship was 1985, where they knocked Wexford out in the provincial semi-final; they then lost to Offaly in the final.

Who would have thought all these years later that both would be meeting for a chance to play in Leinster again? Wexford travel to Portlaoise and the odds are they’ll surely win. In 2019, Laois could picture themselves beating Dublin at O’Moore Park but in 2024 on the same pitch and on the same stage, it’s hard to see Laois’ more optimistic supporters imagining beating the Yellowbellies. Enjoy the games!

Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on Morning Ireland

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