Meath manager Colm O'Rourke is hoping that his side will have the requisite bite when they take on Dublin next weekend in the Leinster SFC quarter-final.
The Royals booked their Croke Park date with a 3-19 to 3-12 against Longford at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.
The Royals were leading by 11 points entering the final minute but 1-02 without reply saw the hosts cut the gap to six points. Meath ended the game with a late point from James Conlon.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, O'Rourke wasn't overly happy with how the game concluded at the midlands venue but was glad to see more regulars to action.
"I'd be fairly pleased with our attacking play but nobody would be too pleased giving away three goals as it got a bit sloppy and messy near the end," he said.
"Most of our main guys are nearly back now, the only one that isn't back is Conor Gray, we had James Conlon and Jordan Morris able to start and we were able to bring on Ronan Ryan, so we are getting a lot of our team back."
And next up is the Dubs.
A storied rivalry through the 1980s and 90s, though Meath were the last side to lower the Sky Blue colours in Leinster, putting five goals past them in the 2010 provincial semi-final. Since then Dublin's fortunes have soared, by way of nine All-Irelands, while Meath have struggled to keep up.
O'Rourke quoted Latin to interviewer Sean Perry in looking ahead to meeting Dessie Farrell's outfit, hoping that his side will be at least competitive at GAA HQ.
"For the last 20 years we've been going to Croke Park and getting hammered by Dublin, not just beaten. We've been like a barking dog with them and not landing any blows. You Sean, as a classical scholar, would know Lupus Non Timet Canem Latrantem (A wolf is not afraid of a barking dog) so you could and translate that and you'll know how I feel about Dublin
"On our side we've been doing a lot of barking but no biting when it came to Dublin for a long, long time, so I'm hoping we'll do a bit better this time.
"If we defend like we did near the end, they'll have three goals in the first 10 minutes. But I'm confident the team is developing and we will be better. I'm looking forward to it and we'll certainly not be putting out the white flag."
