Laois team named ahead of Joe McDonagh Cup final against Carlow in Croke Park
Seven changes have been made from the team that started last year's final defeat to Kildare
Laois senior hurling manager Tommy Fitzgerald has named the team for Saturday's Joe McDonagh Cup final against Carlow.
This will be Laois' third successive Joe McDonagh Cup final appearance following defeats to Kildare in 2025 and Offaly in 2024.
Eight of the players who started last year's final against Kildare have retained their places for Saturday's showdown with Carlow at Croke Park. Fiachra C Fennell, Cody Comerford, Podge Delaney, Lee Cleere, Aidan Corby, David Dooley, Mossy Keyes and Ben Conroy all start once again.
The seven changes from the team that lined out in the 2025 final see Abbeyleix's Eoin Reilly, Ballinakill's Ian Shanahan, Castletown duo Ryan Mullaney and Martin Phelan, Clough-Ballacolla pair Picky Maher and Cillian Dunne, and Borris-Kilcotton's Aaron Dunphy all named in the starting 15.
LAOIS: Eoin Reilly (Abbeyleix); Ian Shanahan (Ballinakill), Lee Cleere (Clough-Ballacolla), Cody Comerford (The Harps); Fiachra C Fennell (Rosenallis), Podge Delaney (The Harps), Ryan Mullaney (Castletown); David Dooley (Rosenallis), Aidan Corby (Clough/Ballacolla); Martin Phelan (Castletown), Picky Maher (Clough/Ballacolla), Aaron Dunphy (Borris-Kilcotton); Ben Conroy (Slieve Bloom), Cillian Dunne (Clough/Ballacolla), Tomas Keyes (Camross).
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SUBS: Cathal Dunne (Clough/Ballacolla), Padraic Dunne (The Harps), Diarmaid Conway (Clough/Ballacolla), Ciaran McEvoy (Portlaoise), Eoin Gaughan (Camross), Fionan Mahony (Abbeyleix), Gearoid Lynch (Ballinakill), James Keyes (Colt-Shanahoe), Jack Kelly (Rathdowney-Errill), Fionn Holland (Clonad), Mark Dowling (Camross).
EXTENDED PANEL: David O’Brien (Clonad), Eoghan Cuddy (Camross), Colin Byrne (Abbeyleix), Jack Breen (Castletown), Eoin Fleming (Borris-Kilcotton), Padraig Rafter (Rathdowney-Errill), Cormac Byrne (Abbeyleix), Eoghan Murphy (The Harps), Joseph Pearson (Clough/Ballacolla).
The game will be refereed by Wexford's Eamonn Furlong, with the throw-in at 3.45pm. It will be shown live on RTÉ2 as part of a double-header at Croke Park, with the Leinster SHC final between Galway and Dublin scheduled for 6pm .