Allianz Hurling League Division 1B
Dublin v Antrim (Croke Park, Saturday, 5.15pm)

A NEW era begins for Antrim’s hurlers on Saturday as Davy Fitzgerald takes the reins for his first competitive game in charge with the Saffrons travelling to face Dublin in their Division 1B opener.

The opposition may be as familiar as they come, but this time the surroundings will be different as Croke Park is the venue as part of a triple-header, sandwiched between the All-Ireland Club Junior Football final and the Allianz Football League clash between Dublin and Mayo.

Certainly, the backdrop couldn’t be grander but it’s up to Antrim to make a dent on the Dubs on their own patch - a situation that has not materialised for quite some time.

Last year, there was another near miss in the League at Corrigan Park, but the Dubs were a different animal come championship time, dishing out a 20-point hiding on their way to the Leinster final when it was their turn to fall flat.

But the early signs from the capital suggest that Dublin are ready to kick on in 2025 and promotion in the League will be high on their agenda with the restructuring of Division One seeing promotion and relegation back between the seven-team Divisions 1A and 1B - a change from the past few years when a 12-team division was split equally into two groups of six.

Antrim would like to see their team challenge at the top come spring, but there is a new approach this year that Fitzgerald insists is going to take time to bed in.

Over the past number of weeks, Antrim have faced Meath, Limerick, Down and Derry in challenge games, but the Clare native admits he could have used more time to work with the players and this league campaign will primarily be about survival, yet he has belief there will be an upturn in the time ahead.

At Dunsilly on Friday, it was an opportunity for those on the fringes to show what they can do, while others returning to full fitness such as Paul Boyle, Gerard Walsh and Seaan Elliott got some valuable minutes, but what was noticeable was how the team set-up with Scott Walsh - a wing-back by trade - wearing the number 15 but dropping back to play sweeper.

Whether it’s the Cushendall man or someone else this week, this is one tactical approach we may see employed, but there are others and Fitzgerald is confident they will get there, but still have some distance to travel.

“I’m happy enough (overall) but one thing I’m not happy about there (against Derry) was going eight or nine points up and then we went back to doing stuff they’ve been doing for the last few years and that frustrates me. But then we are only four or five weeks trying to do what we are doing, so we are changing a lot of things,” he reflected.

“I can see patches where we are doing the right things, then we are overplaying it at other times. These are the decisions they have to make and we are not in the position now to make the right decisions all the time. In order for us to be competitive, we have to play a certain way and do certain things, and we are only into that process.

“It’s going to be frustrating at times, but are they giving everything? Yeah. Are there patches of their play that are really good and making the other teams hit long balls? Yeah, but we’re not doing it consistently.

“We have a lot of work to do. There is no point in me talking absolute baloney, but we have to maintain and stay in our division (1B). That’s our number one goal, but we have to learn a lot this year and then please God, coming into championship and next year you will see those improvements.”

In terms of personnel for this week: Boyle, Elliott and Keelan Molloy are three that will be monitored closely, but there was a large panel there on Friday with those who played against Down earlier in the week sitting out to allow others get some game-time.

There are a number of new faces and some returnees with Conor Johnston, Eoin O’Neill, Ryan McCambridge and Joe Maskey back in the fold, while newcomers include Declan McCloskey, Oisin Donnelly, Seanie McIntosh and some other graduates from the recent U20 panels.

The hunch is that Fitzgerald will opt for experience this weekend to help gain a foothold, but he is not underestimating the size of the task ahead as they go up against Dublin who have, aside from a draw in the 2023 Leinster Championship, been a thorn in the side for Antrim teams - but he believes that in time they can begin to redress that balance.

“I saw Dublin playing Limerick (in a challenge game) and they were absolutely on fire - won by six,” he reports.

“I don’t know if we are ready for that just yet. We will be (in the future) but it’s a big ask for us (this week) so let’s just see what happens. I’m very happy with what we’ve done, but Dublin were in a Leinster final last year and are in a different position to where we are.

“People will say about the league last year, but there was a big difference between the league and championship when they played Dublin.

“I’d expect to see a massive improvement, but if this team keeps working as hard as they are on the things we’ve identified, I’d expect you’ll see a difference in Antrim in the next number of months.”