Defending champions Dublin opened their 2018 championship account with a crushing 4-25 to 1-11 defeat of Wicklow in Portlaoise.

Bidding for an eighth successive provincial crown, Jim Gavin's trailblazers led by 4-13 to 1-4 at half time ... Brian Fenton, Dean Rock, Ciaran Kilkenny and Con O'Callaghan all raising first-half green flags.

With the chasm between these teams evident from the off, the Garden County didn't register until the 17^th minute, by which stage the holders already had 2-7 on the board, Rock, O'Callaghan (2), Kilkenny (3) and Brian Howard pointing to supplement Fenton and Rock's majors, which arrived in the seventh and 14^th minutes respectively.

James Stafford punched Wicklow's goal to an empty ten minutes from the break and the underdogs acquitted themselves reasonable after the restart - but only with the game over as any kind of contest.

Dublin will face Longford for a place in the Leinster final, while Wicklow go into tomorrow morning's first-round Qualifier draw.

Dublin - S Cluxton; E Lowndes, P McMahon (0-1), M Fitzsimons; J McCarthy, J Cooper, B Howard (0-1); M D Macauley (0-1), B Fenton (1-3); N Scully, C Kilkenny (1-7), C O'Callaghan (1-3); D Rock (1-2, 0-2f), P Mannion (0-1'45), P Andrews (0-3). Subs: E Murchan for M Fitzsimons, C McHugh (0-2, 1f) for D Rock, P Flynn for M D Macauley, D Daly for P Mannion, C Basquel (0-1) for P Andrews, K McManamon for C O'Callaghan.

Wicklow - M Jackson (0-2f); E Murtagh, R O'Brien, C Hyland; J Crowe, D Healy (0-1), S Kearon; R Finn (0-1), J Stafford (1-1); D Hayden (0-2), K Murphy, T Smyth (0-2); S Furlong (0-1f), J McGrath, M Kenny (0-1). Subs: C Magee for K Murphy, D Fitzgerald for J McGrath, C Healy for S Kearon, P Merrigan for J Crowe, B Kennedy for J Stafford, D Keane for T Smyth.

Referee - C Branagan.

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