Clonmel 1650, pure Irish lager, has teamed up with GAA stars, JJ Delaney and Diarmuid O'Sullivan to bring hurling fans live commentary, analysis and opinion on all the Championship games through their 'Moments of the Championship' campaign. Follow @clonmel1650 and #Clonmel1650hurling

Clonmel 1650 ambassadors JJ Delaney and Diarmuid O'Sullivan believe Dublin will edge Galway in the big hurling game at Croke Park on Sunday.

Diarmuid O'Sullivan will be in Croke Park on Sunday to see how fellow Cork man Ger Cunningham fares in his first championship game in charge of Dublin.

The Dubs take on Galway in a repeat of the 2013 Leinster final, which they won emphatically to end a 52-year wait for provincial honours. Dublin also had the upper hand when the teams met in the Allianz League at Parnell Park in March, prevailing on a 0-26 to 2-14 scoreline.

"Unless Galway are after circling the wagons and improving dramatically, I can see only one result," 'The Rock' says.

"Dublin are playing at home and will have big support behind them, especially with the footballers playing afterwards. But they also seem to have a bit more about them. I have unbelievable respect for Anthony Daly, but I think things had gone a bit stale and the change in management has been good for them.

"[Ger] Cunningham has changed things around, he has tried out every available hurler in Dublin and knows their strengths and weaknesses at this stage. Despite experimenting during the league, Dublin still qualified for the semi-final and that suggests to me they're in a good place."

The former Cork full back believes Dublin will have learned from their final quarter meltdown against Cork in the Allianz League semi-final.

"That would have been part of the learning curve for Cunningham. They lost their composure and shape after being the better team for 50 minutes. It's very hard to recover when the opposition gets a run on you like that. If it had happened at the end of the first half, Dublin might have been able to come up with something at half-time to stop it."

O'Sullivan sees Galway as something of an enigma, and cannot fathom how they've gone 27 years without winning the Liam MacCarthy Cup after producing a succession of brilliant underage teams since then.

"I saw them against what was really a second string Cork team in Salthill and again against Waterford in the league quarter-final, and I thought they were very average," the Cloyne man continues.

"It's the same old story with Galway coming into the championship - you don't know what you're going to get. Has Anthony Cunningham the tools at his disposal? I wouldn't think so. But you never know with Galway because they're capable of beating anyone on their day.

"It must be terribly frustrating being a Galway supporter. They have these great minor teams every year, but can't seem to get them through to senior. The drop-off rate after minor in Galway is unbelievable."

He concludes by saying: "Both teams will be desperate to win and avoid the qualifiers where Clare are already. Win on Sunday and you've got a great chance of reaching a Leinster final and the All-Ireland quarter-finals."

JJ Delaney knows all about marking the best full forwards in the game and there are few better at the moment than Dublin's Mark Schutte.

The Cuala clubman was one of the standout performers of the Allianz League, and if he can carry that form into the championship, Delaney reckons Dublin will be hard to stop.

"Mark Schutte has given them a goal threat that wasn't there before," the eight-time All-Ireland winner with Kilkenny says.

"He's very direct, very fast and could have a very big summer. He has really come of age since Ger Cunningham became manager. And because the opposition are so preoccupied with marking him, it creates more space for the likes of 'Dotsy' O'Callaghan and David Treacy. Schutte brings other forwards into the game, and that can only be a good thing for Dublin."

Delaney, who will find himself in the unusual role of spectator  this summer after bringing the curtain down on a glittering inter-county career at the end of last year, is looking forward to Sunday's Leinster SHC quarter-final between Dublin and Galway at Croke Park.

"We've already had the round-robin series in Leinster and this is a good game to start the knockout stage of the championship with. It's a high stake game which neither team will want to lose given the calibre of teams that are likely to be in the backdoor. Clare are there already and no-one would fancy playing them this early in the championship."

Dublin were the more impressive of the two in the Allianz League, yet their campaign was overshadowed by a late collapse against Cork in the semi-final.

"Dublin had a good league and hurled well for 50 minutes in the semi-final. But most people only remember the last 20 when Cork staged their comeback. Losing in those circumstances was a harsh lesson which Dublin will surely learn from," the Fenians clubman opines.

While JJ has a "sneaky feeling" Dublin will prevail, he isn't dismissing Galway's chances.

"Galway have a big game in them every year. They were unlucky last year against both Kilkenny and Tipperary. They took us to a replay in Tullamore and were six points up on Tipp in Thurles before fading in the latter stages. They need to drive on this year and bring greater consistency to their game.

"Joe Canning is still their main man and I'm sure they'll do everything to make sure he's playing after his recent hand injury. It should be a great battle between himself and Peter Kelly on the edge of the square. Cyril Donnellan is back too and he should be a big addition. He's a player who gave Kilkenny a lot of problems in 2012."

Delaney believes Ger Cunningham's charges possess enough firepower to see them through to a provincial semi-final against either Offaly or Laois.

"It's going to be an open game, that's for sure," he asserts.

"But I think Dublin will win because of the extra scoring power Mark Schutte and Liam Rushe have brought to the forward line, and the freshness a change of management brings. It's going to be hard for the Galway backline to hold that Dublin attack."

Clonmel 1650, pure Irish lager, has teamed up with GAA stars, JJ Delaney and Diarmuid O'Sullivan to bring hurling fans live commentary, analysis and opinion on all the Championship games through their 'Moments of the Championship' campaign. Follow @clonmel1650 and #Clonmel1650hurling

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