If change means progress then Offaly and Dublin are on the move. On Sunday, they will compete for a Leinster minor hurling title that for the last 10 years has gone to Kilkenny, and for the first time since 1953 will not feature either Wexford or Kilkenny.

It's all so different from the senior pairing of Offaly and Kilkenny - the fourth championship meeting in three years between counties that for a long time have regarded their trip to Croke Park in July as something of a right.

For the minors of Offaly and Dublin, however, it's a welcome and important break in the tradition. Offaly manager Paddy Kirwan - part of the All-Ireland winning senior team of 1981 - is in his first year in charge and sees "no harm at all" in the fact that the two big names are missing.

"It's definitely given the county a huge lift," says Kirwan. "I was talking to Johnny Pilkington and Joe Errity after our semi-final win over Kilkenny and they're very happy to know that there is a good minor team coming through behind them.

"We've also been lucky in Offaly in that successful teams at underage level do tend to stick together. The present senior team was built on the minor success of the late 1980s and our breakthrough in 1980 was built on the under-21 success of 1978. Hopefully this team will do the same, but I do see five or six players moving on to the senior panel in the next couple of years, which is very important to a small county."

Dublin, too, are hopeful that this progress at minor level will feed some new blood into the seniors. Their semi-final win over Wexford was equally important for the county's morale and now they face an Offaly team which they beat by four points in the first game of this season's round-robin series - despite trailing at one stage by 10 points.

"We are a much changed team from then," warns Kirwan. "There is no comparison really in that we have made a lot of changes and improved with every game. We've been gaining confidence all the time, but obviously the win over Kilkenny was special. We were a little nervous at the start, yet hurled very well in the second half.

"But of course Dublin have come on as well, and have an excellent centre forward in Shane O'Neill. In fact, losing to Dublin in the first round was the best thing that could have happened to us. If we had won there I don't think we'd have beaten Kilkenny and made the Leinster final."

This current Offaly minor squad draws from a wider range of sources than has been customary in the past. Birr Community School is no longer the main source, and while six players in the team do come from that breeding ground, there is also a strong input from schools around Tullamore and even Roscrea.

"We've gone to both ends of the county for this team, even down into the football territory," says Kirwan. "Like Dublin we have a few dual players in Neville Coughlan and Ger Rafferty and, with no disrespect to Kilkenny, I think this is great for minor hurling in the province."

But changes were necessary. They were beaten by Westmeath last year, something which Kirwan admits caused "serious slack" in the county. And the first round loss to Dublin didn't help either.

"We're looking forward now to a good day out, especially with the seniors also involved. There will be a lot of pressure on the young players, but if you can't hurl in Croke Park you can't hurl anywhere."

It's something they may eventually get used to.