The formguide for an All-Ireland final has never been more clearcut. The Dublin-Laois pairing for tomorrow's All-Ireland minor football final is unique in that the sides met during the campaign.
The Leinster final in July saw Dublin win by two points but neither camp is taking notice of that result.
"It's totally irrelevant and will have absolutely no bearing on the final," says Dublin manager Ciarán O'Hare.
His Laois counterpart, Seán Dempsey, agrees: "We have moved on since then with two great wins over Tyrone and Kerry. We are a much improved side all round."
O'Hare has no doubts about the merits of both teams. "They are the two best teams left in the championship with two very exciting sets of forwards."
Dublin were brought to the brink of defeat twice by Louth in Navan before reaching the provincial decider. "They were two very tough games and thankfully we have learned from our mistakes and added to our confidence levels. There is nothing to match a tough championship game. It brings you on a ton," says O'Hare.
A number of players from both sides are tipped to make it at senior level in the immediate future. O'Hare reckons six of his panel will be playing on the Dublin senior side within the next three years. Mick O'Dwyer has already called up three of Dempsey's side to the Laois senior panel.
Following their narrow win over Laois, Dublin crushed Fermanagh 0-15 to 0-5 in the quarter-finals and then saw off a strong Cork side by 1-18 to 1-9. A notable ability to stage comebacks has been apparent in both sides en route to the final. Dempsey had real cause to be happy with his team's recovery against Kerry in the semi-final when they turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead.
The Dublin forwards have been more adept at scoring points than goals. They have scored 3-81 while conceding 6-42 to date. Laois have scored 7-53 while conceding 5-37.
Colm Kelly (Stradbally), Donal Brennan and Chris Bergin are the top Laois scorers while midfielder Brendan Quigley and team captain Craig Rogers are not shy in this area. Wing forward Donal Brennan and right corner forward Michael Tierney revert to their original positions having swapped for the Kerry match.
Kelly and Bergin will demand constant attention from Dublin's captain and full back Kian Cleere and centre back Gerard Brennan. The Laois duo will dictate who marks who because of their inclination to interchange.
The Dublin attack has settled with all six forwards probably playing in their best positions. A Mark Vaughan, Barry Kennedy and Gerard O'Meara half-forward line should keep the Laois defence busy. Vaughan and Aidan Relihan down the right flank poise a serious threat to the close-marking Laois defence.
Dublin's attack should benefit from the industry of midfielders John Coughlan and Brendan Phelan but it boils down to the ability of the respective sets of forwards to attain full potential on the day.
DUBLIN: K Walsh; A Downes, K Cleere, W Lowry; D Reilly, G Brennan, I Ward; B Phelan, J Coughlan; M Vaughan, B Kennedy, G O'Meara; A Relihan, K Leahy J O'Hara.
LAOIS: C Gorman; C Healy, C Ryan, R Stapleton; P O'Leary, C Begley, N Donoghue; B Quigley, C Rogers; D Brennan, C Bergin, P McNulty; M Tierney, C Kelly (St Josephs), C Kelly (Stradbally).
Dublin v Laois
