Opportunity knocks for Royal redemption

ALL-IRELAND SFC PREVIEW Meath hoping to put disappointing Leinster final behind them

Today, Meath will look to put the disappointment of the Leinster SFC final loss to Louth behind them as they kick off their All-Ireland series campaign with a clash against Cork in Pairc Tailteann, 3pm, writes Tom Gannon.

This route to the All-Ireland knock-out stages is not as easy as the path that Meath would have taken had they lifted the Delaney Cup. However, it's not a bad draw either and Robbie Brennan's side will be quite optimistic that they can progress past this stage.

CORK

While league and championship don't always translate too well, when looking for pointers for a match from previous meetings of sides, it's far more useful these days to look at a game played under the new rules. The last time Robbie Brennan's side took to the field against the Rebels, it was the very first competitive match that the Meath seniors encountered the amendments.

We won't dwell on the Leinster final defeat to Louth too much, but one relevant stand-out factor in that game was, of course, the three goals in the opening-half. In the opening league contest, Cork's goals proved to be decisive as well, and it is a concern that Louth have provided the blueprint on how to break down Meath and create goal opportunities.

The one positive is that while Cork were goal hungry in their opening games, but that thirst for green flags has disappeared since. In their opening three games, Cork scored seven goals, including the two against Meath in the league opener, but since then, the Rebels have only scored three goals in six games. Regarding point kicking and two-pointers, Meath should have enough firepower up front to cause issues for the Cork defence, and a clean sheet down the other end would go a long way to securing Meath a victory in their round-one game.

ROSCOMMON

This year, Roscommon are nowhere near living up to the high expectations set in the county over the last decade or so. They started the year well with good wins over Down, Louth and Monaghan, but ever since Meath rattled the Rossies in Pairc Tailteann at the end of February, Davy Burke's side have looked a shell of themselves.

They have only won two of their six encounters since that day. They have been beaten by Cavan, Monaghan and Galway. They drew against a Westmeath side who finished bottom of Div 2with a single point. In that statement victory for the Royals, the goals went in favour of Meath as two net finders courtesy of Ronan Jones and Sean Coffey helped Robbie Brennan's side to a seven-point victory. Conor Duke was also in fine form as the Dunshaughlin man hit two two-pointers on his way to a tally of 0-5.

Roscommon have some obvious threats, especially going forward. Diarmuid Murtagh and Ciarain Murtagh accounted for half of Roscommon's overall tally in the Connacht SFC semi-final clash with Galway and Enda Smith is as vital to Davy Burke as ever. However, the fact remains, Meath have made good progress since that league victory and Roscommon have faded significantly. On that evidence, Meath will be quite optimistic about getting a result from Dr Hyde Park in round two, and hopefully that will put them on two wins from two ahead of what will be a tough last round fixture.

KERRY

By far, Meath's toughest challenge in the All-Ireland series will undoubtedly be their final round game against Kerry. The Div 1 NFL champions are the bookies' favourites to go all the way and claim Sam Maguire for a 39th time in their history.

Of course, other teams such as Donegal, Galway and Armagh will be optimistic about their chances of going all the way as well, but if Meath need a result from their final group game, it doesn't get much tougher than the Kingdom in a neutral venue, possibly Portlaoise, Thurles or maybe even Croke Park.

Even if Meath and Kerry enter this game after winning both of the first two rounds, do not expect much of a let-up from Kerry. Jack O'Connor and his side will be keen to secure top spot in the group and therefore advance straight to the quarter finals.

Of course, Meath fans don't need a reminder of the last time the sides met at this stage of the All-Ireland series 12 months ago. That day, the Royals were wasteful in front of the posts. They finished with 11 wides, eight of which came in the first-half when Colm O'Rourke's side had the wind at their backs. A brace of goals in the final 25 minutes, from the mighty David Clifford, ensured Kerry romped to victory with a final scoreline of 2-18 to 0-9. The neutral venue probably favours Kerry in a way. In 2025 so far, Meath have an 80% win record at Pairc Tailteann but only a 50% success rate outside of the Navan stadium. Outside of games played in the Kingdom, Kerry have a 60% win rate in 2025, which, to be fair, is only slightly better than Meath's travel record, but don't forget, Kerry did compete in and win Div 1 of the NFL.

It will be a huge ask for Meath to get anything out of their round 3 clash, but hopefully, at that stage, Robbie Brennan's side will have already secured their spot in the knockout stages.