For the fifth time in five years, Meath and Kildare meet in the Leinster championship. And like their three meetings in 1997 and the rematch in 1998, their meeting in Croke Park on Sunday will involve teams largely familiar to one another.

Two of the players who played such influential roles in those previous meetings as substitutes will go into Sunday's game still on the fringes of the starting 15 - Meath's Jody Devine and Kildare's Brian Murphy.

Devine was widely regarded as the man who kept Meath alive in the first replay in 1997. It was one of those days when Meath refused to lie down, when they trailed for 86 of the 100 minutes played and yet clung on. Devine made his trademark jump from the bench seven minutes before the end of normal time and proceeded to save the day.

During a tense closing nine minutes of extra-time, he chipped over four points from play to briefly push Meath in front. Paul McCormack found time to force a second replay, but Meath won out there by a couple of points.

A year later it was Murphy's turn to spin the winning number. Kildare were out for revenge when the teams met in the Leinster final of 1998 but the scores were level going into the final minute. Cue Murphy, who had been called in from the bench shortly before. Martin Lynch lobbed the ball across to the unmarked Murphy, who slipped the ball into the net.

Going into Sunday's game, Devine and Murphy are substitutes, but both are practically guaranteed to make a appearance at some stage.

"Devine is still an important man in the Meath panel and I would expect he will play some role on Sunday," says Meath spokesperson Brendan Cummins. "He has a very good record when playing against Kildare, not just in the championship but in their league meetings as well. He might not be in the running for the starting 15 anymore but he is definitely in the running for one of the five substitutes."

That is a role Murphy has also taken on for Kildare. Last summer's Leinster final replay against Dublin saw him produce yet another crucial performance after coming on as a substitute. Kildare were trailing Dublin by six points at half-time before two goals in 90 seconds changed the course of the game. Murphy was involved in them both, most impressively with the final pass to Tadhg Fennin for the second and perhaps defining score.

But still he searches for a guaranteed starting place. County PRO Syl Merrins has followed his career closely since Murphy joined the Kildare panel from Cork in 1997.

"The feeling in Kildare is Murphy is always a good man to bring on," says Merrins. "He is an intelligent player and can weigh up the game very well but it is felt his biggest advantage is coming in after the game has started."

Murphy also won a Kildare county title with Clane in 1997 but last year he was infamously described by Pat Spillane as a "Cork reject". Spillane subsequently apologised for that remark and Murphy has remained an important part of Mick O'Dwyer's championship ambitions.