I’m sure all the other teams in the hurling championships had a keen eye on how both Limerick and Waterford performed in their opening matches last week, perhaps looking for some oxygen to fuel their own ambitions going forward.
Limerick and Waterford have clearly been the best two teams over the last couple of years and, so, the key points were: (1) Would the doubts about Limerick, based on their league form, bare out in the reality of championship. Had they really slipped? And (2) how much had Waterford improved based on what we saw of them marching to the league title?
We got an emphatic answer from Limerick who haven’t disimproved at all; and Waterford’s display perhaps left us with more questions.
The other question of note from last weekend’s opening matches was to see if any of the other teams had improved or got near the level of Limerick or Waterford. I don’t think they have. Limerick and Waterford remain very much the two main contenders ultimately for the All-Ireland.
I thought Limerick were majestic against Cork, their big players all looked in good form and it confirmed their first 15 is the best in Ireland.
The move of Kyle Hayes up front and Mike Casey fitting back in at full back worked a treat, while Diarmaid Byrnes, the Morrisseys, Will O'Donoghue and Gearóid Hegarty bring unbelievable physical power.
Hayes is out of Saturday night's game and, allied to the loss of Flanagan and Peter Casey, now questions arise about the depth of Limerick's panel, which will also encourage Waterford to really have a go.
A much understated fact about Limerick is the level of skill all the players have: an incredible first touch, awareness, vision, and ultimately their steel and their hunger and determination, all of which looked to be really intact in overpowering Cork. They’ve been clear of the pack for the last couple of years and, on that opening form, they already look very hard to beat.
Of course there is a long way to go, and that view on Limerick may yet have to be tempered because Cork really haven’t stepped up or improved since last year. Effectively Cork had a very poor All-Ireland final, a decent league and then got hammered in the final by Waterford – and then Limerick absolutely hammered them.
So, where are Waterford at and is it possible to beat Limerick on their home turf at the Gaelic Grounds?
Big gap
Firstly, going back to the Waterford-Tipperary game, it was unusual for Waterford to be so heavily favoured going in.
Tipperary had nothing to lose and all the pressure was on Waterford. I also believe the dimensions of Walsh Park, which are very small, are not at all suited to the type of game Waterford have been playing very effectively in the league final against Cork and semi-final against Wexford where they moved the ball so well.
They've a lot of athleticism in the likes of Calum Lyons, Jack Fagan, Carthach Daly and Jack Prendergast. All those guys need room to gallop and the one thing they didn't have in Walsh Park was that space.
There's plenty of room in the Gaelic Grounds and I've no doubt Waterford will be better for it and we'll also likely see Austin Gleeson and Jamie Barron starting and that further strengthens their chances.
So, back to the question, can Waterford win? There has been 11 points between the teams on the last two big championship outings so they have a big gap to close, particularly given the form of the Limerick defence last weekend.
It is hard to win but if Waterford are to, they can't afford to just drift off Limerick as Cork did. They have to front up man on man. I would like to see Tadhg de Burca have to man-mark Cian Lynch, you can't just let him run free.
Waterford in recent years have dropped a midfielder in front of Lynch that ultimately has been seen to be detrimental to their midfield. For example, we saw in Croke Park the last couple of years, Barron was an All Star-elect until he came up against the Limerick midfield and they’ve been obliterated in the middle of the field by Limerick on those occasions.
I think it is time to go 15 on 15. You might lose either way, but I think you have to put pressure on Limerick, you have to try and limit their success on their own puck out. And then again you have the difficulty on your own puck out with them because, if they force you to go long as they typically do, you have that monstrous half-back line of Byrnes, Morrissey and Hannon along with O’Donoghue, huge men, and it’s very hard to win your puck out and impossible to break a line and carry the ball through them.
I’m really looking forward to the match. I think it will be great. Whatever doubts anyone had about Limerick were dispelled by last week’s performance. Unless Waterford can really put it up to them or wound them to give other teams some oxygen this weekend, then it is hard to see Limerick failing to go all the way with Hayes and others due to return.
All of the other championship games will be tight enough; there’s not much between any of the teams behind Waterford and Limerick.
Difficult assignment
Clare are on their first day out and will bring freshness into their match with Tipperary on Sunday. Aidan McCarthy and Mark Rodgers are huge losses, they were two of their more exciting players last year but, against that, Shane O'Donnell and Peter Duggan are back. Clare were good last year and were only a late Patrick Collins save for Cork away from a place in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Tipperary did well last week against Waterford but it wasn’t a game they were expected to win so this match is much more difficult mentally for them. It’s a difficult assignment for their younger players. Home advantage is a help but Clare are kind of the forgotten team in this Munster championship and I wouldn’t underestimate them at all.
The key match in Leinster is that of Wexford and Dublin. Both are really fighting to get into the top three and can’t afford to drop points. This is critical for Dublin. They have to get something out of their visit to Wexford Park and they wouldn’t have been happy with their performance in winning against Laois last weekend.
Scoring has been their Achilles heel . . . I think Dublin will get the chances to win if and, if they are capable of taking those scoring chances, then they could win it. There’s not much between the teams, but the greater do-or-die necessity for Dublin will make them hard enough to beat.
Kilkenny are probably the team who are interesting in terms of the unknown in the pack. We saw them being beaten by Cork in the league and, if that’s their level, they’re a bit behind the very top. There will be bigger tests ahead but they should beat Laois. Galway even without Conor Whelan should be able to beat Westmeath.
