GAELIC GAMES:THE PENDULUM has swung since the league final. Now it's Dublin who are losing players and Kilkenny who are bringing them back. In May, you could see Dublin had a clear-cut chance to win, whereas tomorrow that's not the case.

Kilkenny showed more in the semi-final than I’d expected. Maybe Wexford were just poor, but Kilkenny responded well to the question marks over them since the league final, concerning hunger, desire and leadership.

Leadership appears to come down to the key players they were missing in the league final – Brian Hogan at centre back (rather than full back), Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice in the middle, Richie Power and, especially, Henry Shefflin up front.

Dublin, for their part, have improved this year. The younger players are physically stronger. Conal Keaney and Ryan O’Dwyer have added greatly to the team’s ball-winning ability and Dotsy O’Callaghan and Paul Ryan have been sharp up front.

It’s a pity they’re so short of players tomorrow. O’Dwyer picked up a needless suspension and he was Man of the Match in the league final, and injury has removed players from central defence. Joey Boland is fit again, but has been very restricted over the past two months. Shoulder injuries are tricky and often go again, so pitching him back in at centre back for his first game is a risk.

Tomás Brady is a huge loss, even if Peter Kelly did really well in what isn’t a natural position. He’s quick and got his hand in against Joe Canning, but full back is a very difficult position – more so than centre back – particularly when you’re up against Shefflin or Richie Power or both.

Dublin haven’t lost all of their central players, though, and Liam Rushe is seriously talented, possibly Dublin’s best now that he’s more experienced and doesn’t solo the ball too much. If everyone were fit I’d have loved to see him at full forward on Noel Hickey, but he’ll have to play deeper.

Although there was an undercurrent in the league final, I don’t think that will continue. Kilkenny’s discipline let them down two months ago, something we hadn’t seen before. I think it happened out of frustration because they realised that beating Dublin wasn’t like just turning on a tap.

Dublin were the form team in the league. They mightn’t have won matches by much and they got taken by a late goal against Galway, but they outhurled everyone. Beating Galway in the semi-final a fortnight ago was big and confirmed they have moved well into the group behind Tipperary and Kilkenny.

They were certainly too much for Galway, who couldn’t deal with the power, energy and communal work-rate, and I think they’ll give a good account of themselves tomorrow.

I thought Wexford would put up a harder challenge to Kilkenny in the semi-final, but the holders also looked to have some of their appetite back. However, Dublin will give this a real go. It’s nearly three years since Kilkenny peaked – in my view in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2008.

This will be a massive game for them. Without the absentees it’s likely Dublin would have been under more pressure, but they are flying under the radar a bit at the moment.

The difference may well be goals.

Kilkenny are well capable of taking chances and I think Richie Power will play at full forward at some stage, and he’ll look for goals, which will be pressure for Peter Kelly.

Dublin haven’t created enough goal chances, but are at the same time on a journey. They’ve moved out of that bracket where they lost to Antrim last year and Limerick the year before and are going up the weight divisions. When a team is doing that, victories don’t always come easily, but when they evolve more I expect players like O’Callaghan and Ryan to be capable of finishing.

It may be relevant tomorrow because Kilkenny gave up a lot of goal chances against Wexford. Kilkenny will be expecting Dublin to put it up to them and they need to know what’s actually there when they hit the button.

This will be close, and I’d be going for Dublin were it not for the injuries, but there’s an awful lot at stake for Kilkenny and I think with their top players back they’ll come through.

After their performance against Tipp, Clare’s draw in Galway is a poor reward. Galway’s five changes from the Dublin defeat might improve things, but it’s not a sign of a settled team in July. If Clare could ask some serious questions it might be interesting, but they mightn’t be able to get up to the same level as the last day when there were virtually no expectations of them.

Also, they’re conceding too many goals and that’s dangerous against Galway.

I was very impressed with Limerick, who are a team that could cause trouble, and Declan Hannon’s inclusion is a plus for them. Darren Stamp’s return will improve Wexford, but I’m confident this will be a home win, and I think, as the summer goes on, Limerick will get better.