Offaly and Dublin to progress

Offaly v Laois : BOTH SIDES are short heavy hitters, with Rory Hanniffy out for Offaly and Laois's All Star nominee James Young…

Offaly v Laois: BOTH SIDES are short heavy hitters, with Rory Hanniffy out for Offaly and Laois's All Star nominee James Young recovering from long-term injury and centre back Matthew Whelan also out.

Damien Fox's Laois team, hampered by withdrawals, have the comfort of an NHL win under their belt but that was also the case four years ago and didn't translate on to the championship stage.

Joe Dooley has prioritised ball winning in attack by switching two central defenders, Ger Healion and Paul Cleary, to backbone the attack. Brendan Murphy's quicker-than-expected recovery from serious injury adds some experience and pace to the attack.

Offaly should have the edge.

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OFFALY: B Mullins; D Franks, G Oakley, M Verney; D Horan, D Kenny, K Brady; J Rigney, C Mahon; D Hayden, G Healion, D Molloy; B Carroll, P Cleary, B Murphy.

LAOIS: P Mullaney; JA Delaney, B Campion, C Dunne; J Fitzpatrick, J Phelan, C Coonan; J Walsh, C Delaney; E Browne, E Holohan, W Hyland; J Brophy, T Fitzgerald, N Costelloe.

Referee: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary).

Dublin v Westmeath: THE LEINSTER Council have involved themselves in considerable complication should Westmeath start winning provincial matches. But that's not likely to happen tomorrow.

Dublin held on to Division One status, unlike everyone else in the province except Kilkenny. They also have a realistic pathway to this year's Leinster final. Westmeath have been hit by the injury to their prolific captain, Brendan Murtagh, who may nonetheless play some role in proceedings.

Dublin have been affected by injuries and withdrawals, including Alan McCrabbe, and although they will expect to triumph, a prospective semi-final against Wexford will be a different story.

DUBLIN: G Maguire; N Corcoran, S Hiney, T Brady; M Carton, R Fallon, J Boland; S Lambert, J McCaffrey; J Burke, D Qualter, K Flynn; D O'Callaghan, J Kelly, P Carton.

WESTMEATH: M Briody; G Gavin, P Greville, A Price; D Curley, D McCormack, C Jordan; B Connaughton, E Loughlin; A Mitchell, L Smith, P Clarke; J Shaw, P Dowdall, D McNicholas.

Referee: Cathal McAllister (Cork).