Kerry and Galway have stubborn obstacles blocking repeat final
O'Connor Park in Tullamore hosts Saturday's semi-final double-header, with the Kingdom and Meath at 5.15, followed by the meeting of Dublin and 2024 runners-up Galway at 7.30pm. Both semi-finals are live on TG4 – with the final slated for Sunday August 3 (4.15pm).
Kerry's clash with Meath is the fourth year in a row the sides have clashed in championship - Meath won the 2022 Final at Croke Park but Kerry had the upper hand in quarter-finals in 2023 and 2024.
On the evidence to date, there won't be much to choose between the sides and when they met in Division 1 of the Lidl National League in March, Kerry won by just two points. In their recent quarter-finals, Kerry started slowly before coming good to see off Kildare, as Meath got the better of Tipperary.
Kerry and Meath have proven matchwinners in their sides, with the Kingdom's Síofra O'Shea on song with 3-2 against Kildare. That tally took O'Shea's All-Ireland tally to 5-10 and she's Kerry's leading scorer, ahead of Danielle O'Leary, who's chipped in with 1-10.
They're just two Kerry players that will need close watching but at the other end, the reigning champions will need to keep a close eye on Meath's leading scorers, Vikki Wall (2-5 to date) and Emma Duggan (0-10).
Meath are unchanged after surviving the Tipperary test, while Kerry have made one change to the team that overcame Kildare, as Jadyn Lucey comes in for Rachel Dwyer in the inside forward line.
With Dublin operating in Division 1, and Galway a tier below, there was no Lidl National League meeting between the second pair of semi-finalists this year, which means that the dramatic 2024 SFC quarter-final clash was the last competitive meeting between the counties.
Galway won a titanic clash at Parnell Park after extra-time and after going on to see off Cork in the last four, the Tribeswomen fell to Kerry in the final.
In this year's quarter-finals, Dublin were too good for Cork, as Galway overcame a Waterford side that had been performing extremely well.
How the respective defences cope against highly talented forwards will go a long way towards deciding Saturday's tie, and Hannah Tyrrell's 5-17 marks her out as a player to watch on the Dublin side.
Tyrrell is Dublin's ace shooter to date in the Championship but Kate Sullivan, with 4-8, has also been performing extremely well.
Galway, runners-up last year and keen to get back to another Final, have Olivia Divilly (0-13) and Kate Slevin (1-10) as their leading contributors in the scoring stakes but there's danger all over the pitch when the Connacht champions move forward.
The Dublin team to start shows one change to the side that lined out against Cork, with Caoimhe O'Connor replacing Hannah McGinnis in attack. Galway are unchanged after coming through the Waterford challenge.
DUBLIN (SFC v Galway): A Shiels; J Tobin, L Caffrey (capt.), N Donlon; S Goldrick, M Byrne, N Crowley; É O'Dowd, N Hetherton; N Owens, C O'Connor, S McIntyre; H Tyrrell, C Darby, K Sullivan.
GALWAY: D Gower; B Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty (capt.); H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; L Ward, S Divilly; N Divilly, O Divilly, A Davoren; E Noone, L Coen, K Slevin.
KERRY (SFC v Meath): M.E. Bolger; E Lynch, D Kearney, C Lynch; A O'Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; M O'Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; J Lucey, S O'Shea, D O'Leary.
MEATH: R Murray; Á Sheridan, M.K. Lynch, K Newe; A Cleary (capt.), S Wall, K Kealy; O Sheehy, M Farrelly; M Thynne, N Gallogly, C Smyth; E Duggan, V Wall, K Cole.
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