Former Westmeath star Dessie Dolan says Mark McHugh’s men face “a real test” this weekend when they take on Galway in Salthill.

After their thrilling extra time victory over Cavan in Mullingar two weeks ago, the Leinster champions head west to take on the Tribesmen for a place in the last eight of the Sam Maguire Cup race.

Speaking on the RTE GAA podcast ahead of this weekend’s second round fixtures, Dolan says that the Lake men are coming up against a higher level of competition than they played so far this year.

"Galway are a serious outfit with a lot of experience,” he said. "The likes of Shane Walsh, [Paul] Conroy, [Damien] Comer. These are all household names. Very, very established.

"Losing the Connacht final will focus their minds that they want to go and achieve the Sam Maguire.

"Losing the All-Ireland final to Armagh [in 2024] was one that hurt Padraic Joyce and hurt Galway. Because they're a team that possibly deserve an All-Ireland with the quality of players they have.

"So this is a real test for Westmeath. They've taken a lot of hits. A lot of injuries built up. A lot of knocks and niggles. I'd say the medical team are just patching lads up to get through games.

"It is a concern that it all might come to a head. But at the same time, you just don't know..."

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