THE BOOKIES MAKE them favourites to win by eight points. The pundits are overwhelmingly in their camp too.
But Jim Gavin knows that Leinster titles aren’t won on the back of betting slips or by ex-players sitting in studios and that’s the mantra he is preaching as Dublin look to clinch their eighth provincial crown in nine seasons.
Standing in their way are old rivals Meath. The Royals’ current incarnation may be a far cry from the national superpower which gleefully scuppered the Dubs on so many occasions during their gripping back-and-forth in the late 80s and 90s but they still have to be respected, if not feared.
“I’m not a gambler, I never have been, and I don’t look at what the bookies say,” Gavin said, brushing off the fact that Dublin are as skinny as 1/12 to win on Sunday and an anaemic 2/1 to go all the way and lift the All-Ireland again in September.
It’s a two-horse race really and no matter what form either team brings into a Meath-Dublin game, whether it be a pre-season game, National League or Championship, they are always competitive to the best of my knowledge. And I’d expect the Leinster final to be absolutely no different.
It’s not unusual for the capital’s hype machine to move up through the gears in the early weeks of the Championship but Dublin’s performances so far have raised expectations even more than usual. Critics will point to their opponents, Westmeath and Kildare, as counties in development or transition but the ruthless manner in which the Dubs racked up successive 16-point victories can’t be ignored.
Fortunately, Gavin says, his players are used to dealing with the buzz.
“Whatever pundits say about teams, that’s their opinion. What’s important to me is the attitude of the Dublin players and I know from obviously working closely with them for the last seven months now that they are very focused and they have shifted from the last game to the next.
“It’s a Leinster final, it’s a game against Meath that is going to be competitive so no matter what people talk about outside the Dublin camp, the players don’t get distracted.
Dublin keeper Stephen Cluxton picks the ball out of the net for the fifth time during the 2010 Leinster SFC semi-final defeat to Meath (©INPHO/Donall Farmer)
They are well used to it at this stage anyway. Growing up in that environment in Dublin there is always expectation and talk of the potential of teams, but that is all it is. Even the last day we still haven’t realised our potential. There are lots of areas for improvement. We are always looking to get consistency of performance and over the 70 minutes against Kildare that wasn’t there.
The warning signs are there. Dublin’s only provincial defeat since the summer of 2004 came at the hands of Meath — and it stung, an 11-point walloping in the 2010 semi-finals.
Gavin has personal experience of the Royals’ bite too. In 2011 his U21 side were the reigning All-Ireland champions when they lost to Meath in the first round of Leinster. Five of Meath’s current senior panel — Donal Keoghan, Ciaran Lenehan, Bryan Menton, Paddy Gilsenan and Michael Newman — started in Páirc Tailteann that evening while Gavin’s young Dubs included the familiar faces of Kevin O’Brien, James McCarthy, Dean Rock and Ciaran Reddin.
“Both teams will want to get their hands on the Delaney Cup,” he said. “Both teams have good form, good National League form, good form in the Championship and both have got big scores in their opening games. And similar enough styles of play, physical defences and competitive midfield and very good forwards – so both sides will feel they have a chance to win the cup.”
