THE CONSTANT mantra around Carlow has been of three-year plans, which rarely bode well for year one.
Although Meath manager Colm Coyle's travails with five suspensions and a number of significant injuries have been high-profile, his Carlow counterpart Paul Bealin's problems have been less so but Mark Carpenter's suspension and Paul Reid's injury are big blows for the team's attack.
The defence had a poor National League, conceding more than any other team outside the shipwreck counties of London, Kilkenny and Roscommon.
Coyle has the chance to run his eye over some options in a low-risk environment and Brian Meade's performance at centrefield will be closely followed.
CARLOW: J Brennan; E Doyle, J Hayden, P Bambrick; P Cashin, M Nolan, A Curran; D Burke, P Walsh; B Carbery, J Murphy, B Murphy; E McCormack, D St Ledger, JJ Smith.
MEATH: M Aherne; C O'Connor, D Fay, C McGill; E Harrington, K Reilly, C King; B Meade, M Ward; A Nestor, C Ward, P Byrne; S Bray (capt), J Sheridan, G Geraghty.
Referee: Gearóid Ó Conámha (Galway).
In the last episode: Meath had a comfortable win in the qualifiers two years ago. The last time they met in the Leinster championship Carlow, managed by the late Bobby Miller, had emerged from the preliminary group past Wicklow, Wexford and Longford. A bit of a tussle was expected, and later in the season, on the way to an All-Ireland, that expectation had flourished in retrospect and Meath were claiming they had been underdogs against Carlow. That wasn't quite true but neither were Carlow expected to lose by 18 points.
You bet: There are no doubts about the favourites this time. Meath are unbackable at 1 to 20 with the draw at 14 to 1. Those who fancy a long shot will be well rewarded at 9 to 1.
On your marks: Focus has been on Meath's absentee list but the injuries look more of a problem than the suspensions tomorrow with last year's captain Anthony Moyles, Brian Farrell and Shane O'Rourke not ready to start.
Still a full-forward line of Stephen Bray, Joe Sheridan and Graham Geraghty should be sufficient to the day.
Gaining ground: Meath all but live in Croke Park and had four major outings here last year on the way to the All-Ireland semi-finals. But their most recent win over Carlow was down in Dr Cullen Park so venue will hardly be a deciding factor.
Just the ticket: See Kildare v Wicklow.
Crystal gazing: Gazing? A glance at the crystal says Meath quite emphatically.
