Former Cork inter-county footballer Brid Stack says the Dublin vs Cork All-Ireland semi-final is "shaping up nicely".
The 2016 Ladies Football Players' Player of the Year joined us to preview the semi-final between the 2018 finalists at Croke Park.
They will be vying for a place in the 2019 final against the winner of the Galway and Mayo semi-final.
Last year, Dublin prevailed 3-11 to 1-12 in the decider and two years before that, it went the other way.
"With 10 minutes to go, we had a big battle on our hands between Cork and Dublin," Stack said of 2018's final.
"Cork were down a point and up steps Carla Rowe to score a goal and Dublin seemed to kick on.
Ruthlessness
"They've done that for the last couple of years since 2017. They have a bit of a ruthlessness about them. Cork saw no way back then in the last 10 minutes.
"Fast-forward to this year and in the league Cork and Dublin met twice this year and Cork did come out on top on both occasions. But you have to look at that semi-final a little bit deeper."
But Stack added that Dublin had experimented during the league, "using 35 players".
"I can imagine there's a hell of a lot of conditioning being done between then and now," she said of Dublin.
"As well, you look at that game, Dublin were missing Sinead Goldrick, Siobhan McGrath, and Lauren Magee only came on at half-time."
She added, "It's shaping up so nicely because there was nothing between them that day. But on that day, I do think Cork were fitter. But I don't know if Dublin were at full tilt that day."
Stack also spoke about the fact that it will be a Croke Park double-header.
"It's a massive step forward for Ladies football. First of all, having the two semi-finals in one location," she said.
"Previously, the two semi-finals were always separated and they were put with an intermediate semi-final.
"So having the two semi-finals together is a massive boost for Ladies football."
You can watch the full preview with Brid Stack above via YouTube including the Mayo vs Galway match.
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