Almost a whole new team
The Dublin minor hurlers continue their Leinster championship journey this Saturday, as they head to Cusack Park in Mullingar for their provincial semi-final at 3pm.
The Metropolitans come in off the back of an impressive win over Offaly to face a Westmeath side that knocked out Wexford in the backdoor system in their last outing.
Dublin boss Johnny McGuirk has an almost entirely new squad from the outfit that shocked Kilkenny in last year’s Leinster championship, before losing to the Cats in the provincial final, and then being beaten by Waterford in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
There are some survivors however, with McGuirk and the management hopeful of counting on some of the players who featured in last year’s campaign to ensure their summer does not come to a premature end this Saturday.
Ciaran Brady
In his third year at minor the Faughs teenager is the rock on which this Dublin side is founded. Strong and quick, the defender was used mostly as a sub in the last two championships, but is now the undoubted leader of the Dublin starting 15.
Dublin’s opening championship game this season was against a fancied Offaly side, but with Brady manning the edge of the square, he limited his direct opponent Eoghan Cahill to just a single point while he also managed to get on the scoreboard himself with a pointed effort.
Brady played in both games against Kilkenny in last year’s championship coming in as a sub, while he started as wing back against Waterford in their All-Ireland quarter-final loss on a disappointing day for the youngster as he was subbed before half-time.
Brady showed a good understanding with captain Eoin Skelly in the win over Offaly, and marshalled a defence that only conceded 0-13. His reading of the game has been compared to a young Peter Kelly, and if the Dublin are to progress and overcome an ambitious Westmeath side the Faughs man will need to be at his very best
Matthew Oliver
Free-taker and scorer in chief for the city slickers Oliver is one of the finest young talents to emerge from the capital in a decade. Wore the number 15 on his back for the Offaly game but ultimately ended up playing in midfield as the Na Fianna man scored 0-5 in total, with two massive long range frees and a ’65 helping the Dubs to the win.
Another survivor of the 2014 campaign, Oliver scored 0-2 in the Leinster win over Kilkenny from corner forward but his all-round industry as well as eye for a pass means the current Dublin management are using him more centrally.
The teenager has been an impressive performer at schools level in Dublin over the last number of months as well and is a rugby player of some note too.
He is a guaranteed source of at least 0-2 to 0-3 every game and the Belvedere College man looks set to form a strong midfield partnership with the returning Cian O’Sullivan
Westmeath will need to be well aware of the threat from placed balls he poses, while we’d be hugely surprised if his accuracy in all-round play doesn’t see him at least contribute from open play.
Eoghan Dunne
The St Brigids man is everything the Dublin senior hurlers could want in a forward; pace, power and the goalscoring touch that marks him out as a star of this year’s championship already.
The strike that rattled the back of the Offaly net was a wonderful score, and the anticipation for Gavin King’s break as well as the finish form about six yards into the roof of the net was typical of a hurler who is full of confidence.
1-2 on the night but responsible for a general air of mayhem in the Offaly defence, it’s clear that Dunne is the 2015 version of the enormously talented Eoin Ó Conghaile.
Non-Dublin supporters who have seen him at schools level feel that his stickwork and eye for points is as good as any minor hurler in the country, and Dublin will rely heavily on him to link up with fellow attackers like Fergal Whitley and Gavin King.
Dunne is a rising star and if he fires anything close to what he can then Dublin’s championship should extend beyond Saturday and into July at least.
