Former All-Ireland-winning Dublin captain Denise Masterson believes the current squad may not have things all their own way when they take on Meath in the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football final on 5 September.
The Royals staged a remarkable comeback against Cork to book a place in the decider for the first time in their history after an astonishing semi-final clash at Croke Park. Two late goals brought the game to extra-time and it was Eamonn Murray's charges who held their nerve in that period to win by two points.
Masterson, speaking on RTÉ's Game On, was impressed with Meath's resurgence on Sunday last.
"It was a real Goliath moment," she said.
"In fairness I had tipped Meath beforehand. However, as the game progressed Cork were in control and I thought they played a very good second half of football.
"I don't know of anybody watching it on TV or who was there, except the 15 players on the pitch, who thought a comeback was likely. It was fairytale stuff, a really impressive performance from them."
Reflecting on Dublin's win over Mayo in the first semi-final, Masterson sees a side that are still "developing" in spite of their quest for a fifth All-Ireland on the trot.
"The loss of Niamh Collins in the full-back line was a huge blow for Dublin, but Leah Caffrey and Aoife Kane did well in curbing the threat of Mayo's Rachael Kearns and Sarah Rowe. And then you have Orlagh Nolan who is really growing into her role in defence. And then you have Hannah Tyrrell; she was huge again for Dublin.
"I don't know if there's a sport she couldn't pick up."
Looking ahead to the final, Masterson feels Meath will give Dublin "a completely different prospect than they've been used to" - while accepting that last year's TG4 Intermediate champions won't be found out for workrate.
"You could throw 10 names out that played a huge part against Cork," she added.
"The teams haven't met competitively in the championship for a while. Cork had their gameplan nailed down against Meath, but fell away at the end. I don't think it will be as one-sided as it should be on paper. Meath will give it to Dublin."
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