It is probably a perk of being a traditional county that you can winter as if hellbent on self-destruction and yet pull out of the tailspin in time to be regarded as favourites against one of the more promising outfits in the country.
Kilkenny's dire League form was compounded by the complications that attended DJ Carey's retirement and reconsideration. At the moment they still have a relegation play-off against Antrim pending and a new manager, Kevin Fennelly, doing his best to rebuild a team in transition.
In recent weeks there has been something of a turnaround with Kilkenny doing well in challenge matches against Limerick and Tipperary while Dublin haven't been that impressive in their prematch build-up.
Compared to last year's sem-ifinal meeting between the counties, so much has swung Dublin's way that it's easy to forget that even a year ago Kilkenny were very poor in Croke Park and within 10 minutes of their first defeat by Dublin since 1942.
One Kilkennyman said during the week that all the talk of Dublin never having a better chance to beat Kilkenny reminded him of last year but the situation is graver than that. Last year Kilkenny enjoyed a reasonably good League, had DJ Carey in good form embarking on the championship and played Dublin in Croke Park.
This year, it's quite different. A poor League campaign, Carey in unpredictable form and the match in Parnell Park within whose tight confines the opportunities to assert aristocratic values will be more difficult.
Furthermore, Dublin have spent the League hurling at a higher level than last year and have an improved selection, particularly in the forwards where team manager Michael O'Grady lamented last year's poor striking in top-class match situations. The team might also get through the whole match without losing their full back Sean Power as happened 11 months ago when he was booked twice.
According to one knowledgeable Dublin hurling observer, Pat O'Neill, Power's Kilkenny counterpart, will be under pressure on the puck-outs because of the small size of the Parnell Park pitch and the presence of former Kilkenny All-Ireland medallist Eamonn Morrissey on the edge of the square. But what goes at one end, goes at another and Power will have his hands full with PJ Delaney.
Philip Larkin virtually won the match after coming in as a secondhalf substitute and he starts tomorrow at centrefield against another former Kilkenny player, Jamesie `Shiner' Brennan, whose contribution in the middle have been vital to the team.
DJ Carey starts against Dublin's best line, the half-backs, and Dublin will hope he can be curtailed as long as last year but equally will remember that he got away for the decisive goal.
Given that it took Kilkenny so long to tweak their selection last summer until it worked to the optimum level, they face quite a task tomorrow. Should they win, the usual evolution will be underway but the fact remains that Dublin won't have a better chance of beating Kilkenny for a long time.
It may seem a familiar routine but two years ago, in similar circumstances, Wexford made it count. Dublin can emulate them.
Dublin: B McLoughlin; J Finnegan, S Power, D McMullen; L Walsh, P Brady, R Boland; J Brennan, S Perkins; S Martin, B O'Sullivan, C McCann; D Sweeney, E Morrissey, T McGrane.
Kilkenny: J Dermody; T Hickey, P O'Neill, L Keoghan; M Kavanagh, C Brennan, W O'Connor; P Larkin, P Barry; DJ Carey, M Phelan, B McEvoy; N Moloney, PJ Delaney, C Carter.
