LIL HURLERS' BIG CHANCE

KILDARE hurlers are 70 minutes away from jumping straight from the Christy Ring Cup into the All-Ireland series with back to back promotions.

- BY KARL O'KANE

If the Lilywhites can get the better of Laois at Croke Park in tomorrow's Joe McDonagh Cup decider - a curtain-raiser to the Leinster Final - it will represent a significant leap for hurling in the county.

Either way, Kildare are going to be facing a beaten provincial finalist in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, a tie which will be a huge step-up.

This year's McDonagh Cup will play the beaten Leinster finalists with the runner-up playing the beaten Munster finalists, but it's the McDonagh Cup that Kildare are really after.

When they were last in the McDonagh Cup (2023), they lost all five games. This year they've won four and lost one.