Louth and Proud: Leinster Club Weekend

The cream is rising to the top in the Leinster Junior and Intermediate championships.

This weekend not only is the standard being raised but the difficulty levels also have been notched up, as both team have to travel away from home for their respective semi finals.

On paper both teams look like they could get a win.....purely as the teams they are facing are from hurling counties but, it doesn't always work out like that.

The Gers are playing Wexford champions St Fintans and Hunterstown are playing the Offaly junior b runners up Birr.

Fintans are on a remarkable run of form...they won the junior last season and went all the way to the leinster junior final also...their main man and Wexford senior Joey Wadding. He plays in the middle for them.

That run of confidence and experience of last season will stand to them and makes them a tricky prospect for the Gers. Nevermind the fact the Haggardstown men are without their main man Jim McEneaney!

However dad and manager Eamonn will have them mentally ready like they were last week to play without him. Their squad is more than capable and they even unearthed a prospect in Johnny Breen former Dundalk soccer player to come in on the forty. If they don't advance it won't be for a lack of preparation.

Hunterstown really are stepping into the unknown....Birr the club are so well known nationally for their hurling exploits but not at all for their football...who even knew they were a dual club!

Birr do possess recent Offaly senior football players Sean Ryan and Stephen Lonergan in their squad combined with the aggression and fitness of the dual hurling members of the panel will make them a raw force for Hunterstown, literally.

The thing that gives me further hope about Hunterstown not the fact they've went away from home already this season and won or the fact they've 2 wins on the trot in this competition or the fact they have some serious scoring power but the fact that Birr are in the competition by default....losing the junior final to the Tullamore second team.

These games are too tight to call so I'm not calling them them but I will say, We seen last week in Drogheda that it is crucial you take your chances, if you don't at this level you lose....as the Blues found out.

Hopefully we'll have two Louth teams in two Leinster finals come sunday evening!

Sunday Line up