Naas will need to be at their best for visit of Offaly champions
Mark Dowling is in his first year in charge of Naas
They would never admit it publicly, of course, but there must be a sense within the Naas camp that their season truly starts this weekend.
No one at the club would ever take a Kildare championship for granted and there must be immense pride in having become the county's most dominant hurling force in well over a century. But after so many successive county titles, what they really crave now is a genuine tilt at becoming Kildare's first Leinster Senior Club champions.
It seemed at times that they barely had to break sweat on their way to this year's county crown. Indeed, some victories were so comfortable that the entire panel of more than 30 players was sent for a full sprinting session immediately after the final whistle.
They did encounter resistance from Maynooth in the final, but even in their most competitive outing of the year they still struck two late goals to pull clear and secure a double-digit victory.
An eighth successive county title is an outstanding achievement, but there is little doubt they face a sterner examination than anything encountered so far this season when Offaly champions Kilcormac-Killoughey arrive at Cedral St Conleth's Park on Sunday for their Leinster quarter-final, throw-in at 3.30pm.
K-K are almost as dominant in Offaly as Naas are in Kildare, although they had just two points to spare in retaining their county title as Ballinamere finished strongly with the final four scores of the game.
All eight of their Offaly senior titles have come since 2012 and they have also lost three county finals during that period.
Their talisman is undoubtedly Adam Screeney, the poster boy of Offaly hurling, who struck eight of their 19 points in the county final victory. Having only returned for the semi-final, he wasted little time in making his presence felt. Charlie Mitchell and Jordan Quinn remain sidelined through injury, but K-K still possess quality throughout the team in wing-back Ter Guinan, midfielder Colin Spain and forwards Daniel Hand and veteran Conor Mahon.
They captured the Leinster title in 2012 with victory over Wexford's Oulart-The Ballagh and have lost three provincial finals since, most recently in 2024.
For Naas, this is their fifth Leinster senior campaign since winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title in February 2022.
Later that year, they claimed their first Leinster Senior Championship by defeating Shinrone, the last Offaly club to win the county title before K-K's current four-in-a-row. They then acquitted themselves well in a Leinster semi-final defeat to Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Their best Leinster campaign came in 2023. They defeated Naomh Éanna before producing a superb display against Dublin champions Na Fianna, eventually falling narrowly short in the semi-final.
They have won just one Leinster match across the past two campaigns, against Carlow's Mount Leinster Rangers, and both journeys ended at the hands of Wexford champions St Martin's.
Last year's exit was particularly disappointing as Naas slumped to a 0-21 to 0-11 defeat in Wexford Park.
That performance should provide ample motivation this weekend. Naas were missing key figures such as James Burke and Conan Boran, both of whom are expected to be available this time around, but even allowing for those absences it was a lifeless display. To compete in Leinster, Naas must be close to their best. On that occasion, however, there seemed to be lead in their boots. Their first touch deserted them and, against quality opposition, that simply is not good enough.
Producing a performance much closer to their true capabilities will be of paramount importance on Sunday.
After five highly successful years under Tom Mullally, Naas entered this season under new management. Another Kilkenny man, Mark Dowling appears to have brought both freshness and a ruthless edge, with Naas handing out several heavy defeats in Kildare this year.
How much that counts for this Sunday remains to be seen. There are injury concerns. County footballer Daragh Kirwan looked a major addition to the hurling setup this season, but he is unlikely to feature. Cian Boran made his first appearance of the club campaign in the county final against Maynooth and it would be a huge boost if he were fit enough to start. Richard Hogan is another county man working his way back, although he did not make an appearance from the bench in the final.
Such is Naas' standing within Kildare hurling that Dowling's tenure will not be judged on success within Kildare alone. County titles are now almost expected. He was brought to Naas to help the club make the next step in Leinster, and Sunday provides the first real measure of how close they are to achieving that ambition.
