Meath expected to grow in the Garden
The Meath hurlers are back in action this weekend as they look to build upon their fantastic win over Derry and take another step towards qualifying for the Christy Ring Cup final when they take on Wicklow in Aughrim on Saturday, writes Tom Gannon.
Johnny Greville's side have shown incredible resilience to quickly put behind them what was a disastrous start to the competition against London and bounce back to winning ways with victories over Tyrone and old rivals Derry.
Jack Regan is still at the forefront of Meath's attack and continues to consistently put in 8 or 9/10 performances. Regan is being supported by the pacy and goal-hungry duo of Nicky Potterton and Mikey Cole. Lorcan Byrne continues to shine by putting his body on the line to win dirty balls and fouls.
He is also well capable of chipping in with a couple of points every game. Damien Healy relished his role as a target man against Derry and you would imagine that he will continue to be the big man at the edge of the square, given how much success it has brought Meath in their last two games.
Meath's defence improved exponentially in Celtic Park and it is the spine of that back six that really holds the glue together. Bar Regan, Darragh Kelly and James Toher are Meath's two most important players right now, and as long as they stay fit, it's very hard to see anyone else but those two wearing the number three and six jerseys respectively for the Royals.
Meath are more than capable of producing two good performances and sealing their final spot with relative ease, and staying grounded will be key in that regard. However, there may be some twists and turns in this group stage in these final two rounds.
Wicklow are going to be a tough side for Meath to get the better of. Very little was expected of the Garden County but they currently sit top of the table, unbeaten after three games.
They are yet to play the two big guns in Meath or Derry but they did have a good win over a talented Donegal side and held London to a draw in Aughrim.
The fact that Meath's clash with Wicklow will be played in Aughrim is also a concern but if Meath get close to the level that they performed at Celtic Park two weeks ago, that should be more than enough to inflict Wicklow with their first defeat of the campaign.