What you have here are two teams that, irrespective of whether they deserve it or not, are in an All-Ireland final. Offaly have, once again, made use of the back door, but that's the system that was voted in and that's what has worked in their favour.

But they have beaten the 1999 All-Ireland champions Cork in the semi-final, where they played very well. Still, it is an unusual final in that it is an all-Leinster final. For a long time this year, all the talk was about Munster and it appeared that Leinster hurling was gone dead. Well, here we go with two Leinster teams in the final.

That makes it less attractive, no doubt about it. The buzz that is attached to an All-Ireland final is not as great as it would normally be, but, of course, that is not the fault of the two teams that are in it.

It also makes it a very difficult game to call. Every time I look at these Kilkenny forwards I'm reminded of how good they are. John Hoyne is something of a dark horse, but if he comes from Graigue Ballycallan then you can take it that he's a very good hurler.

But their six forwards will always grab my attention over their six backs. There are some question marks over the experience of the defence, especially Michael Kavanagh, Noel Hickey and Eamonn Kennedy. Midfield is quite settled, with Andy Comerford particularly experienced, but when you look at the forwards, like DJ Carey, Denis Byrne, Henry Shefflin and Charlie Carter, that's where the real force of Kilkenny lies.

So the backs will have to play very well. They will have to hit effective ball into the forwards as well as doing their defensive job. As always though, their attacking game will centre around John Power. He's the ball winner and that's what they've been relying on all summer. He creates the space and the breaking ball for the likes of DJ, Carter and Byrne to pick up.

Having said that, I believe Power can handle that responsibility. He's been around a long time now and is full of enthusiasm for the job at hand. So if Offaly are going to have any chance of beating them, Joe Errity will have to stop Power from playing his usual role. I've known Errity for years now and he is a class player, no doubt about that.

Then you look at the rest of Offaly and there are a number of further questions to be asked. Can the half backs hold the Kilkenny half forwards? Can Simon Whelahan cope with Shefflin, or Kevin Kinahan cope with DJ? Some of them will and some of them won't.

Brian Whelahan is a hugely capable player, we know, but on paper I think the Kilkenny forwards have the edge. Of course, I can write a team down on a piece of paper and it may look brilliant, but it has to go out and deliver. What a team looks like on paper means nothing if they can't perform on the day.

So Simon Whelahan will have to play in front of Shefflin to have any chance. Kinahan looked a bit slow against Cork, but he has played against DJ so many times that he knows the number of hairs on the back of his neck. Of course, you have to watch DJ for the full 70 minutes. Even if DJ is tied up, Carter and Shefflin can prove to be winners.

Kilkenny have the more impressive record coming into this final, but Offaly only really played them for 55 minutes of the Leinster final. Things went wrong at that point and they let the heads drop quickly. That is not their style and I don't expect them to lose heart as quickly here.

Still, I believe Kilkenny have the edge to shut them out once more. They've been beaten in two All-Irelands and they don't want to be beaten in three. Of course, that can work against them as well. If Offaly go ahead by four or five then the doubts may surface.

However, I don't think Brian Cody will allow that to happen to this team. He has done everything in his power to get it right this year and, in contrast to last year, there is a very low-key approach to this game which will probably suit them.

Offaly will be relying a lot on Johnny Dooley at centrefield. He can be very effective on the attack, but he's not as effective defending. For Offaly to win, all six forwards will have to tear the Kilkenny backs asunder or else put up as many scores as possible whenever they are dominant.

Sure, they have a tremendous chance. A lot of these Offaly players have great heart and have won two or three All-Irelands, so it's going to be very tough. I can see them playing a similar type of game that they did against Cork in the second half of the semi-final.

They'll pressurise the opposition, but their style is very simple in that, each time they get the ball, they move it very fast into open space. There'll nearly always be a player there to take the pass, but it means that Joe Dooley and Michael Duignan will have to prove that they still deserve to be playing at this level.

Both teams have plenty of good reserves on the bench, not least John Troy who I very much expect will make an appearance for Offaly. But Kilkenny look set to win this on the basis of all their performances this summer. It is an intriguing final, but the head definitely says that Kilkenny won't lose three-in-a-row.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan