Michael Darragh Macauley insists that Ballyboden St Enda’s should be regarded as the underdogs in Sunday's AIB Leinster club football against Portlaoise.
Portlaoise have won a record seven Leinster titles and are gunning for victory after losing the 2012 and 2013 finals so the Dublin midfielder argues they should be favourites against his club who are first-time finalists in Sunday's showdown at Tullamore.
"This is unprecedented territory for us while Portlaoise are very experienced when it comes to Leinster. They are the Klitschko, we're like Fury coming into this," he joked, borrowing an analogy from last weekend's world heavyweight title fight.
Ballyboden's size and playing numbers may have earned them an unwanted 'superclub' tag but their shock defeat of St Vincent's in this year's Dublin SFC final was actually only their third county football title ever which underlines just how competitive club football is in the capital.
Hurling has actually brought them far more success, with six county SHC titles since 2007, which also means a lot of juggling for their dual stars.
"We have a very big catchment area but there's a lot of rugby schools in the area, soccer is huge and athletics too," Macauley said. "A lot of people are pulling from every direction.
"There are a lot of residential areas around us so we do have big numbers coming in to play underage which is a big plus but numbers aren't everything," he stressed.
"I think it's structure and how a club is run. Having the right coaches in place, that is huge."
Boden' may be in their first Leinster final but given Dublin's dominance of the inter-county game, they will travel burdened by expectations.
Yet personal experience, for example, getting ambushed by Westmeath champions Garrycastle in the 2009 Leinster semi-finals, is keeping them grounded
"Sometimes people expect a Dublin team to walk through Leinster, like Kilmacud and Ballymun and St Vincent’s who have all done well for themselves in Leinster and the All-Ireland series.
"We got a rude awakening in 2009, it definitely stuck with us. It's not easy to win the Dublin championship so it's important to take every advantage in Leinster when you can," Macauley noted.
After failing to nail down a starting place with Dublin last summer he is arguably fresher and hungrier than usual at this time of year and admits he was confident that his club, coached by ex-Meath minor boss Andy McEntee, could be Dublin's surprise package this season.
"A county title was definitely on my list of 'things to do' this year because I knew how good this team was.
"I'd been hearing for years about these young fellas winning at underage for Ballyboden, winning Feiles and coming up through minors. They're finally hitting 19 to 21 now and breaking into our team and really pushing for places.
"Then you have, well I won't put myself in the 'aul fellas' group yet," he laughed.
"I reckon I've another year to go but you have the likes of Conal Keaney, Stephen Hiney, Declan O'Mahony and Andrew Kerin who've been around for a long time and seen it all before.
"It's impossible to win a championship with too much experience or too much youth. We have a nice little balance at the moment. That's what we had in '09 when we won it (Leinster) and that's what we have again."
Boden' may have massive playing numbers but the southside club, formed from an amalgamation in 1969, has managed to create and retain that tight-knit village feel that is magnified by historic occasions like this.
"There is a huge bit of hype around Rathfarnham and Ballyboden at the moment, it's brilliant," Macauley said.
"If you go up Firhouse Road there are flags as far as the eye can see, posters put up on every wall. You can't drive down any street without seeing some Ballyboden colours or posters somewhere so everyone has bought into it and there are more and more going to every game.
"And if you look at last weekend sometimes a Fury can beat the Klitschkos." he quipped.
