Standing in their way are arch rivals Mater Dei Catholic College.

Kildare have been untroubled in their five games so far this year, including a 36-0 win over Mater Dei in round two.

However Mater Dei captain Tom Ferguson expects his side will be a lot better for the experience.

"You are obviously going to learn stuff from playing against them so we know what we need to do better," Ferguson said.

"Hopefully that will get us over the line."

Completion is one thing Ferguson hopes the side can improve.

However they were blown out of the water in the last meeting between the two Catholic schools with Kildare crossing for four tries before Mater Dei were able to complete their second set.

"We have to complete our sets, especially early on, make sure there's no early points from them and just get to our kicks," Ferguson said.

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Mater Dei have been beaten in three of the last four grand finals, and have not raised the shield since 2011.

However they welcome back a host of important players from their last match up with Kildare and are looking to embrace the underdogs tag.

Josh Prest, Max Peterson and Julian Leermont all come into the side.

However Kildare have also made a number of changes to their most recent line up.

They've given plenty of their large squad a taste of the competition but are set to field their strongest team once more in the final.

Captain Will McDermott admitted coming into the final with an imposing record adds pressure to the side, who are looking to win their first Hardy Shield since getting the better of Mater Dei in 2019.

But their form has created plenty of confidence as well.

"There is a lot of pressure knowing we've come through pretty easily and Mater Dei is a pretty quality side and they always turn up in finals," McDermott said.

"But the boys have been preparing pretty well and we've just keen to play."

McDermott believes completions will also be key.

It's been the message coach Matt Ward has been drilling into the side, who have not conceded more than one try in any of their games, throughout the competition.

He's also looking to limit Ferguson's impact on the side and for the forward pack to contain the likes of Peterson and Rory Arragon while McDermott, Kye Wright, Joe Morton and Ryan Fairall are among the keys for Kildare.

Kick-off at Paramore Park has been moved to the earlier time of 5pm.

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