DESSIE FARRELL has a wealth of experience at his disposal after naming his Dublin GAA panel for the start of the Championship.
Stephen Cluxton, Mick Fitzsimons and James McCarthy will all be on the hunt for a stunning 10th All-Ireland medal this summer.
McCarthy briefly appeared during Dublin’s league campaign during their defeat to Monaghan.
However, Cluxton and Fitzsimons are among an eight-man group to be included in the panel after not featuring in the league.
17 clubs are represented across the 40-man panel ahead of the first clash of the Championship with Meath on Sunday.
Brian Fenton is of course one of the major stars in the squad but he is set to miss the opener this weekend.
Fenton was sent off during Dublin’s league final defeat to Derry and the decision ended up not being overturned.
The GAA’s Central Hearings Committee dismissed Fenton’s case at a late night hearing on Tuesday.
The midfielder was charged with a Category 3 infraction and was found guilty of ‘Behaving in any way which is dangerous to an opponent’, which carries an automatic one-game ban.
Fenton was dismissed for shoving Eunan Mulholland to the ground following an earlier challenge on him by the Glen defender.
The six-time All-Star has only a couple days to go before the GAA’s Central Appeals Committee to protest his innocence.
Meath will be pleased with Fenton’s absence as they look for their first win against the Dubs since 2010.
The Royals’ marksman Mathew Costello had his own doubts ahead of the clash but has insisted that he is ready to go.
After illness ruled him out of the loss to Donegal in the final round of the National League, Costello was withdrawn at half-time in last Sunday’s Leinster SFC win over Longford.
He explained: “I just had a bit of a viral thing. I hadn’t trained much during the week.
“I thought I was over it after the Donegal game but unfortunately I wasn’t fully right.”
Asked if he expects to be available for Sunday’s provincial quarter-final against the 14-in-a-row-chasing champions, the Meath vice-captain responded: “I think I’m over it.
“It was just a relapse of whatever I had a couple of weeks ago.
“It was just something that needed a bit of time and rest. I should be fine.”