Jonny Cooper knows Kildare are a potent force

Wed, 12th July 2017

Dublin defender Jonny Cooper says expectation in Kildare is growing for good reason in the lead-up to Sunday's Leinster SFC final in Croke Park (4.0).

The Lilywhites cruised to comprehensive victories over both Laois and Meath to reach this weekend's provincial decider against the reigning Leinster champions.

It seems like they have a team and a manager and coach that put a lot into to them.

“(They have) a lot of good individuals, particularly from my end – a lot of good individuals who are particularly dangerous. I’ve marked a couple of them.

“So yeah, I’m looking forward to it. (They have a) very good offence. Very good from the platform in the middle. They have threats in a lot of places," adds the Na Fianna clubman.

Dublin are hoping to secure a record seventh Leinster SFC title in-a-row on Sunday and Jonny says the Dubs still hold that achievement in very high regard.

“I don’t know if I personally look upon those medals – be they Leinster or a previous year’s All-Ireland medal – as something that’s really up there.

“I just keep on rolling and keep on going through the framework of it all.

“You get asked this a lot of times: are the provincials still important or is a medal still important in the province when you’ve won the last couple of years?

“The answer would be ‘yes’."

At Wednesday morning's media briefing manager Jim Gavin confirmed that John Small, Philly McMahon and Michael Darragh Macauley are all fit and in contention for selection to face Kildare on Sunday while the Dubs boss is hopeful that Paul Flynn will prove his fitness also ahead of the game.

The curtain-raiser on Sunday sees Dublin and Louth meet in the Leinster MFC final (2.0) and the Dublin County Board urges fans to arrive early to support Tom Gray's side.