Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

Dublin have had a great season but their progression will come undone against Tipp, predicts Emmet Moloney...

The Dublin dressing room at about 3.05pm on Sunday is the place to be. Having heard Anthony Daly deliver the occasional motivational talk before, I can only imagine with relish what he’ll say to his troops. I’m guessing there will be a mention of the fact that they have nearly printed the All-Ireland final programmes with Tipperary and Kilkenny on the front cover. Anthony has been known to have a bet on a greyhound now and again and he might mention that his team, the national league champions, are 9/1 to win this game. He might allude to the fact that back in February on the same ground, with a sizeable audience watching, Dublin beat Tipp by a point.

Daly has much ammunition and he’ll have a willing listenership. One of his many talents is to make believers out of non-believers and for this reason alone I’m convinced that Dublin will throw caution to the wind on Sunday afternoon. This doesn’t mean they’ll win; it simply means they won’t roll over at the first sight of Lar Corbett rattling the net. There’s fight in the Dubs and on Sunday that will carry them well into the second half.

In the other corner we have a team that looks unbeatable, that is being called unbeatable, that is playing like it is unbeatable. This is a disaster for Declan Ryan or any manager leading into a match. Okay, it’s not a total disaster managing this talented group of players, but you know what I mean.

Expectations can be as difficult to manage as players sometimes and Ryan and Tommy Dunne have a real test on their hands. The fact that Kilkenny were in the first semi-final doesn’t help them because now all the talk is about the Cats in a final. Players can’t help meeting spectators every day because we’re in the amateur bracket and that means inter-action that few sports can boast. There is no bubble for GAA teams who generally live, work and play at home. They’re hearing it and they wouldn’t be human if a tiny bit of it didn’t lodge in some corner of the brain.

Ideally, Tipp want to beat Dublin on Sunday much in the manner that Kilkenny fell over Waterford. The Cats were comfortable all day on Sunday, never behind and never really in any sort of trouble. Yet they didn’t sparkle with the same clinical brand of hurling they showed in the Leinster final and finished not with a flourish, but with a whimper of long-range efforts and piling men behind the ball.

I’m no conspiracy theorist so Brian Cody certainly didn’t set out to induce this exact performance, but he didn’t really try and alter the last 20 minutes, content to let the clock run out. It suited them down to the ground. They won a semi-final and weren’t overly impressive. What more could you ask for?

This would be Declan Ryan’s wish for Sunday. Beat Dublin, struggle for a while, lose no-one through injury or suspension, come out of the game with expectations slightly dampened. Then you can mention Kilkenny in every sentence.

The last time we saw Tipperary in action was the Munster final and right now that display is a hindrance rather than a help to them. They will not score seven goals on Sunday; they might never score seven goals again. They will not have the freedom, the space, the lack of a physical threat and the all-round breaks they got that day in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. They know it and Dublin know it. That Munster final was a freak; better plan for a different game.
If Dublin were full strength for this match then they would have a right chance. Conal Keaney and Tomas Brady are the two biggest losses in my book. Take Henry and Tommy Walsh out of Brian Cody’s team sheet and the loss is something similar.

The Dubs have stepped up to cover those losses, with Liam Rushe in particular a revelation, while Peter Kelly has been superb at full-back. Up front Ryan O’Dwyer compensated for Keaney’s absence with three goals against Limerick. But this is Tipp and where the Dubs have found new strength, they’ve had to take from other sectors and that’s their greatest weakness. Brady’s restoration at full-back would allow Kelly into centre-back and Rushe up the field. Keaney’s appearance would mean the likes of McCrabbe, McCaffrey, Dotsy O’Callaghan and a few more would be battling to make the starting 15.

With those men out, not to mention inspirational captain Stephen Hiney, Dublin’s resources are too stretched, the bench too limited and competition for starting places not fierce enough. It has been a great year for them but these injuries will stop them in their tracks on Sunday. At this stage of their development, their squad is not strong enough to replace such men. Tipperary’s is. Last year Seamus Callinan couldn’t get his place on the starting 15! This is why they will win and although it won’t be with the same disdain that the Munster title was captured, win they will.

Dublin will make Sunday very physical and for that Tipperary will be thankful. Strolling into an All-Ireland final won’t suit any team. Their biggest concern will be getting involved in any nastiness. The last thing Declan Ryan needs is to go into an All-Ireland final minus a starter or two through suspension. They’ll do their usual, go for goals when they’re on and try to smother Dublin early.

Last Sunday is the blueprint for Tipp. Win early, cruise home by seven or eight points, have about 3-18 on the scoreboard by game’s end and leave something to work on. They must finish with 15 and be looking towards the first Sunday in September with the Mahers, Lar, Eoin Kelly, Noel McGrath, Callinan, Curran and a few more fully intact. It’s not too much to ask for.

In the other dressing room Anthony will be asking for everything. Total commitment. He’ll get that effort too because his team will leave it all on the pitch. They could be the ideal game for Tipperary at this point of the season – just the right test before the ultimate test comes along.

Don’t be fooled by Kilkenny last Sunday, they’re in an All-Ireland final with the perfect semi-final behind them. By 5pm on Sunday they’ll be joined by their old foes Tipperary, who might just have a little sheen taken off them in the preceding 70 minutes. What harm.

The mother of all finals awaits. To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...