Dublin never got to the pitch of the game in their 3-28 to 1-18 Leinster final loss at the hands of Kilkenny.
Former manager Anthony Daly said it prior to throw-in that the Dubs couldn't afford to fall behind early on and, lo and behold, seven minutes in, they were 1-5 to 0-2 down.
Dublin didn't recover from there and by half-time, with Adrian Mullen having racked up six points from play, the score was a whopping 2-18 to 0-9.
Speaking at half-time of the game, Daly described it as one of the 'dog days' for Dublin hurling.
"These auld days, I don't know what it is," he said.
"It's a trend in Dublin hurling. The dog days I used to call them," said the Clare man.
"Everything they would have done this week would have been 100% right. You come in on that bus today, you think everything is perfect, probably music in that dressing room. But whatever it is at times, they just don't (show up)..."
Léigh an scéal seo trí Ghaeilge ar Liathróidí.ie brúigh anseo.
💬 "It was like a challenge match"
Joe Canning on how Dublin got it wrong as they fell well short of Kilkenny in the Leinster final
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Dublin never showed up in the Leinster final
Former Galway hurler Joe Canning had noticed something a little bit off with Dublin before the game.
Two of their players walked around the pitch for the pre-match parade with no hurls in their hands and Canning asked if it showed that 'maybe they were too relaxed.'
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"I'd say Micheal Donoghue and the guys will be scratching their heads as to where that performance came out of from a Dublin perspective," said Canning.
"It was interesting though, even in the parade before the game, you're playing in a Leinster final and there's two Dublin players walking in the parade with no helmet and no hurl."
8 June 2024; Dublin captain Paddy Smyth leads his side during the parade before the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kilkenny at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
"You're going 'are they playing football or whatever?'
"Just a small thing, were they maybe too relaxed? It was strange for me because if we were going out to play a game, you'd have your hurl with you.
"It's only a small thing. You look for different pieces going into games. That's not the reason obviously but it just shows the mentality that was there you know."
Meanwhile, Shane Dowling was full of praise for Kilkenny for their performance which he says was full of heart, desire and skill.
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"They're animals.
"Kilkenny are an unbelievable county," said Dowling.
"If I was to be from any other county, that wasn't Limerick, they wouldn't take me now, but I'd be from Kilkenny.
"Every day of the week, you know what you're going to get with them. They're after waltzing into an All-Ireland semi-final now and (the talk is) that it's because Dublin have been bad.
"But their work-ethic, their directness, their skill-set. They mightn't have played great all the time through Leinster but you have to time your run.
"They've timed their run. They've now four weeks off, and they're going to be waiting in the wings now for whoever."
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