Laws explained to the Scunthorpe Telegraph: "You always pick up a few knocks and problems in the first few weeks of pre- season because the players have gone a long time without doing the level of fitness work we currently are.
"If there was a league game, the players would play.
"But as we're in a situation where we have to make sure that players are ready for August 6 we can't risk them."
He added: "We're expecting a tougher game tonight because Cobh are doing slightly better in the league than Limerick and I'm told that they are a bigger and stronger side too.
"It's going to a be a stern test for us at this early stage of the season, but that is exactly what we want.