Cork and Galway look evenly balanced for final

Women's National League Final: Sunday's final of the women's National Football League is one those games for which neither team needs an added incentive to win. All-Ireland champions Galway are looking for their first title, as are opponents Cork, who were beaten at the concluding stage a year ago.

For that reason alone neither could be classed as firm favourites. They'll both travel to Hyde Park in Roscommon on Sunday - where their game precedes the men's semi-final between Mayo and Armagh - knowing they're both capable of winning.

Clearly the team that wants it more will prevail.

Galway possibly hold the greater expectation on the basis of their championship win, yet captain Annette Clarke knows all about the Cork challenge.

"I suppose for some people outside our team we could be seen as the team to beat," she says. "But not for ourselves. We went into this year's league with a lot of new players added to the panel, and just taken it from there. We've played Cork earlier on in the league and it was a very tough game. We beat them by a couple of points, but expect an even tougher game here."

Cork fell to Mayo in last year's final, and for captain Juliet Murphy the memory is still fresh: "It was a harsh lesson. I think we got a little bit overawed by the whole occasion, just being in a national final. Mayo were that bit better than us on the day, but hopefully we can take something from that.

"Maybe we weren't used to playing at such a high level. This year we've matured, and even though we are still a young team we are going in with a much better attitude."

Neither captain seems to mind having to share the billing with the men. "It's a good thing," said Murphy, "and maybe will give some more people a chance to see what the games are about."

Throw-in is at 1.45pm, with deferred coverage shown on TG4 at 5.20pm.