Half of the teams that will play in the National League Finals at headquarters this weekend are in, including a very, very strong looking Cork side out to make it three Division One titles on the trot.
Conor Counihan has drafted 2010 All-Ireland winning captain Graham Canty in at centre back, with dual star Eoin Cadogan dropping back to the corner and Eoin Cotter missing out altogether.
As a result, the Rebels starting XV has the look of a side that Counihan could well be replicating come Championship in the summer, with a forward line containing the likes of Paul Kerrigan, Donncha O’Connor and the in-form Colm O’Neill carrying a particularly potent look.
Eoin O’Mahony misses out with a broken hand sustained while playing for his club last weekend, while the clash against Mayo comes too soon for Ciaran Sheehan, who has been progressing well in his comeback from a cruciate knee injury.
Mayo are due to name their starting XV at lunchtime today.
All the other teams named for the finals in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 of the National League differ significantly from what went before as Tyrone (Division 2), Wexford and Longford (Division 3) were all in the pretty comfy position of having assured promotion before their last game.
Justin McMahon, Ryan McMenamin and Kyle Coney are big losses for the Tyrone team going up against Kildare in the Division 2 final, although Mickey Harte has been able to call on the likes of Conor Gormley and Aidan Cassidy as the Red Handers look to maintain their 100 per cent record in the league.
National League Finals (All to be played at Croke Park):
Division 4: Fermanagh v Wicklow, Saturday, 5pm.
Division 3: Longford v Wexford, Saturday, 7pm
Division 2: Kildare v Tyrone, Sunday, 2pm
Division 1: Cork v Mayo, Sunday, 4pm
Cork team to play Mayo: A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields, E Cadogan; N O’Leary, G Canty, P Kissane; P O’Neill, A O’Connor; F Goold, P Kelly, P Kerrigan; C O’Neill, A Walsh, D O’Connor.
Tyrone team to play Kildare: J Curran; A McCrory, C Gormley, P J Quinn; C McCarron, P Harte, D McCaul; A Cassidy, C Cavanagh; R McNabb, M Donnelly, S Cavanagh; O Mulligan, N McKenna, S O’Neill.
Wexford team to play Longford: A Masterson; R Tierney, G Molloy, N Murphy; B Malone, D Murphy, A Flynn; A Shore, D Waters; R Barry, C Lyng, B Brosnan; C Morris, E Bradley, PJ Banville.
Longford team to play Wexford: D Sheridan; D Brady, B Gilleran, D Reilly; CP Smyth, M Quinn, S Mulligan; B McElvanny, J Keegan; P McCormack, P Barden, N Mulligan; D McElligott, B Kavanagh, S McCormack.
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