The long arduous nature of Offaly's footballing odyssey over the past 18 months, however richly marked by success, could seriously threaten their chances of a successive Leinster senior football championship triumph over Meath in Croke Park on Sunday.

The opinion is that of stalwart Dublin midfielder Paul Bealin, now close to clocking up a decade of effective service in the Dublin shirt. He believes that Sunday's game will present Tommy Lyons's men with a particularly searching examination. "It is a crossroads situation for them and only the players out there will really know what is left in the tank. "It's been a long run of success for them, a Leinster title, an All-Ireland semi-final appearance, a league title and two O'Byrne Cups. That sort of campaign can take its toll," says Bealin.

"I think they are playing better as a team as a result of all of this competition. They are obviously used to winning and it will be difficult for Meath to break the sequence. It will be nothing like last year's Leinster final. Meath are going to feel they were hard done by through injuries and suspensions and there are few teams better than Meath at putting it up to you. They are expert at clawing their way back into a game. "This did not happen for them last year. The damage done by Offaly's attack and especially by Roy Malone's goals was difficult for them to redress given their depleted player strengths," adds Bealin.

Meath's low profile for this time of the year should be another cause for concern in the Offaly camp.

"Nobody hears anything about them other than they are training hard. When Meath are quiet like this they are most dangerous," says Bealin.

Meath's refurbished back line, now that Darren Fay and Mark O'Reilly are restored, threatens to sabotage Offaly's best thought-out moves, according to Bealin. Barry Callaghan, a finger injury permitting, is poised to impress in his new-found position at centre half back.

Roy Malone delighted the Offaly followers in last year's Leinster final by making the best of weak cover. This was a situation that Bealin cannot see being accorded an encore. "With Darren Fay this time standing between Malone and the Meath goal, I doubt very much that the Offaly man will be allowed such space."

Offaly had a startling eight points to spare in that game (3-17 to 1-15), Malone and Vinny Claffey hitting the goals as the whole of Meath looked on in disbelief. Meath lead 11-9 in the head-to-head over the 20 championships meetings between the sides so far. The winners this time will play either Wicklow or Louth in Croke Park on June 28th. In fact, with the exception of the Wicklow-Louth clash in Drogheda on Sunday week, all remaining matches in the Leinster championship are fixed for Croke Park. Fay's expected influence on the fringe of the square and beyond, should duty demand it, is almost certain to be a key factor in Sunday's game. The Trim clubman's presence tends to reassure Meath supporters in much the same way as did Mick Lyons.

"If I was a betting man," says Bealin humourously, "I would put somebody else's money on Meath."

Reverting to Dublin's prospects in this year's championship, he advises that little heed should be paid to defeats in recent challenge games.

"I am not in the business of making excuses and don't wish to suggest that we were not trying against Mayo and Cavan. I do know that when a performance is needed, we will produce and will not be found wanting."

He would like to feel that Dublin's trouncing of Kerry in Parnell Park in February represented the true potential of the Metropolitan team.