McGrath: Are we punishing Joe McDonagh Cup finalists?
Joe McDonagh Cup finalists Kildare and Laois will be back in action this weekend, but in truth, anything other than wins for Dublin, and in particular Tipperary, would be seen as major shocks.
The Lilywhites will enter the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final at home to the Dubs with huge momentum behind them.
Having already secured 1B hurling earlier this year, Brian Dowling's men will compete in the Leinster Championship in 2026 after a maiden success in the McDonagh Cup on Sunday.
Laois, on the other hand, will have to pick themselves up after the 10-point defeat at Croke Park, where the challenge will be significantly tougher against a rejuvenated Tipperary.
The preliminary quarter-finals tend to be one-sided games, with Laois' victory over Dublin in 2019 the only time a Joe McDonagh side has prevailed against stiffer opposition.
Laois' 12-point defeat to Wexford at the same stage last year could be seen a success in the context that the average losing margin for the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists before that was just shy of 22 points.
Earlier this year, Leinster Council chairman Derek Kent proposed scrapping the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals to accommodate potential provincial final replays, insisting the preliminaries offer "no promotion of hurling".
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Tipperary hurler Shane McGrath outlined his own concerns over the fixtures, especially the short turnaround from the McDonagh Cup final.
"Take the All-Ireland hurling final on the third week of July," he said. "Imagine after that match, you say to everyone, 'by the way, you won this, but to play in this competition you have to play next Saturday'.
"Are we nearly punishing them for winning the thing by playing seven days later."
Former hurling referee Barry Kelly praised Kildare and Brian Dowling for being the hurling and managerial story of the year respectively, but feels the preliminaries offer little hope for the McDonagh sides.
"The average defeat in those games is 17 points," he said. "No-one would be surprised if Tippeary beat Laois by 17 points. Let's be honest, 17 points would be regarded by Laois as an achievement next weekend."
Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship on Saturday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm.
Watch an All-Ireland Football Championship double-header, Monaghan v Down and Donegal v Mayo, on Sunday from 1.30pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm.
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