Shane Ryan: Dubs to hand out a hammering to Westmeath
DUBLIN look destined to deliver another double-digit hammering en route to completing their second Leinster five-in-a-row in the space of just 11 seasons.
That's the firm belief of retired Sky Blue Shane Ryan, who has been on the receiving end of a Westmeath ambush in 2004 but who cannot see history repeating itself in this Sunday's Leinster SFC decider at Croke Park.
"The Dublin team this year is definitely a step-up from nearly every team in the country," Ryan told The Her ald.
"So I think Westmeath will need, not only to fight for everything, they'll have to rely on Dublin coming out and not really being at their best, for them to have any chance.
"I would foresee something similar happening to Westmeath as happened to Longford and Kildare. This Dublin team has learned a lot of lessons from last year.
"It seems that they're not going to let games slip by them anymore. At least not yet anyway."
Harking back to Dublin's 27-point blitz of Longford and 19-point cruise past Kildare, the former All Star declared: "They didn't give either of the two previous teams a chance … everyone loves to see an underdog winning and they (Westmeath) did brilliantly against Meath in the semi-final, but a lot of that would have been down to Meath taking the foot off the pedal in a big way.
"It was great to see Westmeath getting there but that kind of performance that beat Meath will not be enough to save them from a big defeat against Dublin."