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They will respect Cavan, but if the six in a row chasing Dublin smell blood, Pat Spillane can’t see Dessie Farrell’s men showing mercy.
Eight All-Ireland medals, nine All-Stars and a long media career; There’s not much Spillane hasn’t seen at this stage, but he was taken aback by the Blues’ performance in the Leinster final.
As an RTÉ Sport expert in a deserted Croke Park, the great Kerry had the opportunity to see Dublin prepare and play up close.
It left an impression.
“That Saturday night was the first time I saw the Dubs in action up close, a close look at the Dubs in their pregame warm-up and a close look at the Dubs on the field and they blew my mind.” Spillane told the RTÉ GAA Podcast.
Dean Rock, Sean Bugler and Niall Scully scored the goals in a 21-point victory, but Dublin attacked Meath from every angle and Spillane said the Meath players he met after full time were “dumbfounded.”
“This is an incredible team. I met some of the Meath players after the game and they were speechless, they were just dumbfounded, because they had been hit by a Blue Tsunami.
“They were like rag dolls thrown into the tide, they were helpless. Cavan will put on a great show and a good fight, but if they lose by a single digit score, it will be a kind of victory,” he said. Spillane, who had tipped the Royals to give Dublin a proper test.
This is indicative of the gulf that many see growing between Dublin and the rest, as the debate over finance, population and other benefits continues to rage.
While accepting that there is a need to address the issues of funding and equal seating, Spillane did not want the high quality of this team to be overlooked.
“I couldn’t believe their work rate, their energy, their attitude. From start to finish, they never gave up and that’s the sign of a great team. They won’t disrespect Cavan, they didn’t disrespect Meath, they pushed up. on Meath kicks and went to Meath.
“When the great teams smell a weakness or the great teams smell blood and The Dubs that night, in the eighth or ninth minute they started to bleed little and for the next 29 minutes it was incredible football: they scored 2-10 with no response.”
Watch Dublin v Cavan (Saturday 5:30 PM) and May v Tipperary (Sunday 3:30 PM) live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, hear live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 and get live blogs, reports and reactions on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News application. The highlights of The Sunday Game, 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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