by John P Graham

Monaghan hurling manager Trevor Hilliard says there are few secrets between his side and Tyrone ahead of their third meeting this season on Saturday.  

The Farney men have won and lost a game against their Ulster rivals thus far in 2017 and will be the hosts for this weekend's Nicky Rackard Cup opener at Inniskeen, where they'll be keen to deliver a second win over the Red Hands to edge closer to a semi-final berth.

"It's one apiece," stated Hilliard, "we defeated them and they defeated us but since our last game with them they have had a couple of more competitive matches than we had, although they shipped a heavy defeat by Donegal which probably dented their confidence a bit and then they came back against Derry in the Shield final and probably feel they could have won that game, but like all teams we meet we do believe they are beatable.

"This is a different ball game on Saturday though and it's really going to be dog eat dog as far as I'm concerned. Preparations have gone well for us and the injury situation has improved greatly since our last game with Eanna MacSuibhne now the only player definitely ruled out so other than that we have a full panel to pick from.

"Mark Treanor is back which is a big boost to us because he's a big presence in midfield and that will be a great lift to everyone, Niall Garland has re-joined the panel and Stephen Lambe is back, which will give us options in attack and we will get a couple of good sessions into him this week but he is working well in training, so we will probably be throwing him into the mix.

"That said though we are going to have to put up a big performance if we are going to win this one and with the way the Rackard Cup is structured it is best going through the winners section because if you can win on Saturday and again on Saturday week you are into the last four, which is our aim. The draw will be made after the games at the weekend so you will know then what the fixtures are after that.

"However, that's a wee bit further on than we are and all we will be doing is looking at ourselves because we were very disappointing the last time out against Tyrone."

The Farney boss added that his side's approach will be a bit different than more recent meetings, stating: "We will probably set up a bit differently this time and be more ready for the level of physicality that Tyrone are bringing to their games. We saw that against both Donegal and Derry as well and I have no doubt that's the way it will be on Saturday, so we just have to man up and be ready for it."

Throw-in at Grattan Park on Saturday is at 3pm.

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