Kildare star Ronan Sweeney is refusing to underestimate Laois ahead of Saturday's Leinster SFC semi-final in Tullamore. The Lilywhites are strong favourites to advantage to the provincial decider, but Sweeney hasn't forgotten what happened in 2005 when the sides last met in a Leinster semi-final. "We've been in this position before in 2005. We beat Wicklow and Westmeath, who were the champions at the time, and then took a hiding off Laois so we have to be cautious," the Moorefield clubman said. "Laois are a serious talent and on their day they are capable of matching any team in the country. They have been winning at underage level and we haven't and there's the rivalry too. They seem to be moving well at the right time. They had a difficult enough league, they did finish well but they had some good results too," he explained. Sweeney also points to Laois's greater consistency, which has seen them reach the semi-final stage in each of the past seven years. "They are extremely consistent and are probably unlucky not to have won more Leinsters. There's huge expectations but not from inside the camp. Laois have good players and they are missing a few but they didn't seem to miss them that much the last day (against Louth). They are missing a few but they have players like John O'Loughlin, Ross Munnelly, (Padraig) Clancy and (Darren) Rooney," he added. Tweet

Most Read Stories