Dessie Farrell not getting carried away after Dublin trounce Meath

Dessie Farrell wasn't getting carried away after Dublin inflicted a ninth-straight championship defeat on Meath at Croke Park.

Seán Bugler, Paul Mannion and Con O'Callaghan got the goals as the sky blues blew their neighbours away in front of a relatively small crowd of just over 21,000 at the Jones' Road venue.

While the Royals managed to disrupt the Dubs' kickout, the All-Ireland champions had far too much up front as they began their attempt for a 14th straight provincial title with a 16-point triumph.

Farrell's side will face Offaly next, while it's All-Ireland group stage preparations for Meath over the next five weeks.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game the Dublin manager was keen to put things into perspective.

"First round of the Leinster Championship, good to get through it against old rivals," he said.

"There were some good elements [and] some elements we won't be happy with. There's always something to work on no matter what the game or situation seems to be.

'A mixed bag' - Dublin boss Dessie Farrell offers an honest appraisal of an easy win over Meath. pic.twitter.com/cnhHX4r04X

"Areas you may have addressed previously come back to bite you. It's that type of a situation for us. Some things we thought we had fixed raised their head again today. Other things we were working at, it was good to see us execute and implement.

"We'll have to look at the tape. An initial assessment would be, it's a mixed bag for us in terms of the stuff we have we have been working on in the last two weeks.

"We move on at this stage."

Stephen Cluxton and Mick Fitzsimons started the game for their first appearances of 2024, while James McCarthy, the other player that can extend their record number of Celtic Crosses this summer, came on in