Based on what we've seen in the qualifiers, only Cork are likely AllIreland contenders. For me, Clare v Galway has been the key game. We were looking forward to finding out the Galway formation, how it would perform and, ultimately, whether they would stake a claim as All-Ireland contenders.
That the line-up was announced just before the start can't have helped and nervousness might explain the poor touch shown in the match. Their play was unsettled and probably no better than in the league quarter-final against Wexford. We had expected that the Ger Loughnane factor and his training regime would have had an impact in the meantime.
It doesn't appear to have had.
All you can do is go on the games they have played. They were beaten by Wexford in the league and we've seen what level they're at. Then they struggled to beat Laois in the first qualifier game and came out second best to a Clare team that Cork beat at their ease.
Galway will most likely be in an All-Ireland quarter-final against Kilkenny and now that Eugene Cloonan is gone the only constant down the spine of the team is John Lee.
Today's selection is presumably more or less the team that will face Kilkenny, if they can beat Antrim this evening. To date they've had three or four full backs and Derek Hardiman's in for his first game since the league, named at wing back, although he was another who played full back in the league.
You can tell this isn't what Loughnane wants, but he's not seeing what he wants. He must have had higher expectations going into the job. Not only did he not come out of the league knowing most of his best championship team, but it looks like he'll come out of the qualifiers not knowing it either.
Clare, on the other hand, have the qualifying system fairly cracked in the past couple of years. They've had key matches at home in that time and have beaten Waterford, Limerick and now Galway.
Moving managers from Anthony Daly to Tony Considine there had been talk of unrest, but again they punched above their weight last Saturday night and that's the only test you can have of a manager. They're getting the best from their resources.
People are looking for teams to come up and challenge Cork and Kilkenny. Waterford have done that and you're hoping other teams can move into that space. Clare could well beat Limerick, but I wouldn't give them a chance of beating Kilkenny or Waterford.
Their scoring power is limited. It was a surprise to me that Clare, with the personnel they had, could beat Galway with the personnel they had. It was a poor game. The narrowing of the pitch didn't help the standard of the tie and the fact Clare felt they needed to do that for a home game would tell you a lot about their realistic ambitions.
But, ultimately, they have to come to Croke Park and this year they won't have Seánie McMahon or Brian Lohan, whose performances in Croke Park in recent championships reminded everyone of what great players they were.
Tipperary were unsettled coming into the championship and, between injuries and uncertainty, became more unsettled during the Limerick trilogy. In hindsight, if they were going to be beaten by Limerick they would have been better off being beaten the first day, which would have given them the chance to recover physically and mentally before the qualifiers, as Cork took the opportunity to do.
Instead, Tipp went from the third match against Limerick - an event that took on a life of its own and became much more than a Munster semi-final - to play Offaly a week later. By then they were reeling from the experience of three matches, two periods of extra-time, the eyes of the nation on the semi-final and losing what had become an intense, tribal battle.
They were very lucky to beat Offaly and had to keep going for the next match in Parnell Park and have had no chance to regroup. They certainly have gone backwards, but circumstances haven't helped. They go into today's Cork match still troubled by injuries.
No sooner had they Paul Curran back than they lose him to an unbelievable belt - I couldn't believe that it was just a yellow card.
They need something to lift morale and I don't think they're going to get it this evening. Unfortunately, they're meeting a Cork team very much on the rise. Gerald McCarthy's side have taken motivation from the suspensions controversy, which also forced them to introduce a few new players and that's been a help to them as well.
Tipp are playing for the sixth week in a row and haven't been able to steady the ship since letting the 10-point lead in Thurles slip away.
Shane McGrath and James Woodlock did well in the first couple of games against Limerick, but both are injured. Even though Eoin Kelly is named, it's hard to see a pulled groin coming right in a week. The danger is he'll aggravate it and then his season would be over.
I think there's still a great need for a focal point in the Tipp attack, which basically means Micheál Webster. Danny O'Hanlon was the great white hope, but he was substituted in the under-21 match the other night.
They need a physical edge. I don't know if Webster's fit enough to get some game-time this evening, but they'll need that edge if they're to make any impact in the quarter-finals.
When Tipperary are able to win their own ball - like Dan Shanahan, John Mullane and Eoin Kelly are able to do for Waterford - they have the players to put it away. But they haven't been able to find a reliable or robust pattern of play.
It hasn't helped the mood in the county that the under-21s lost, but, more importantly, it hasn't provided a lift for the senior players who were involved in that match.
Winning might have eased some of the tiredness. Pa Bourke, Ryan O'Dwyer, Woodlock, O'Hanlon and Darragh Egan are all senior players. Losing a seven-point lead in the last 13 minutes isn't going to help their confidence.
It's hard to see how Tipp can win, but they can't afford to go down badly.
Group One A
P W D L F A +/- ... Pt
Clare 2 2 0 0 5-31 2-29 +11 ... 4
Galway 2 1 0 1 3-34 3-24 +10 ... 2
Antrim 2 1 0 1 3-38 4-34 +1 ... 2
Laois 2 0 0 2 2-27 4-43 -22 ... 0
Group One B
P W D L F A +/- ... Pt
Cork 2 2 0 0 4-47 0-26 +33 ... 4
Tipperary 2 2 0 0 3-37 3-24 +13 ... 4
Offaly 2 0 0 2 2-24 3-44 -23 ... 0
Dublin 2 0 0 2 1-26 4-40 -23 ... 0
All-Ireland SHC Quarter-finals
Group One A winner v Limerick
Group One A runner-up v Kilkenny
All-Ireland SHC Quarter-finals
Group One B winner v Wexford
Group One B runner-up v Waterford
In the event of an equality of points, all finishing positions shall be determined firstly by scoring difference, then the highest score for shall be used to determine position(s), then the result of the game which involved the two counties.
The All-Ireland SHC semi-final draw will see Kilkenny/Group One A runners-up and Waterford/Group One B runners-up in one bowl to be drawn against one of either Limerick/Group One A winners or Wexford/Group One B winners from the second bowl. Teams who have met before in the championship can be drawn to play each other again.
