Laois senior football team named for Leinster Championship derby against Offaly

Laois senior football manager Justin McNulty has named his starting 15 and substitutes for this weekend's Leinster Championship clash with Offaly in Glenisk O'Connor Park.

The team for Saturday shows no changes to the one that started Laois' final league game against Down up in Newry. Laois won that game 2-22 to 0-24 and will head into the Offaly game full of confidence. Portlaoise's Ben Dempsey is back in the matchday squad for the first time since he got injured in the week before Laois' nine-point victory over Westmeath at the end of February.

Paul Kingston has also been named to start on the bench yet again, even though he scored 2-3 against Down three weeks ago to give Laois a third win in Division Three and see them finish fourth in the table with seven points.

LAOIS: Killian Roche (Killeshin); Jack Lacey (St Joseph's), Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen), Alex Mohan (Portarlington); Pa Kirwan (Emo), Aaron McEvoy (Ballyroan-Abbey), Simon Fingleton (Park-Ratheniska); Ciaran Burke (Crettyard), Conor Heffernan (Killeshin); Kevin Swayne (Portlaoise), Ronan Coffey (Portarlington), Paddy O'Sullivan (Portarlington); Brian Byrne (Captain) (Graiguecullen), Daragh Galvin (Portarlington), Evan O'Carroll (Crettyard).

Subs: Matthew Byron (Courtwood), Darren Brennan (Portlaoise), Killian Byrne (Ballyroan-Abbey), Niall Corbet (Clonaslee St Manman's), Jake Darcy (Annanough), Ben Dempsey (Portlaoise), Mikie Dempsey (St Joseph's), Paul Kingston (Arles-Killeen), Rioghan Murphy (Portarlington), Cian Nolan (Park-Ratheniska), Sean O'Neill (The Rock).

Laois v Offaly throws-in at 6pm on Saturday, April 11, in Glenisk O'Connor Park, Tullamore. The winner will travel to Newbridge on Sunday, April 19, to face Kildare in a Leinster quarter-final.