The 10-year retrospectives on Kerry's close call against Limerick in the 1991 Munster final remind us of the influence of the random on championship matches.

Back then Kerry were vulnerable, John O'Keeffe (currently Kerry's coach) was in charge, but the Limerick team was just past its best. With the sort of options available today, O'Keeffe might have pulled off the shock in '91 or '92 (when Limerick ran Kerry even closer).

But the current crop, with John Quane the only survivor from the early 1990s, run into Kerry as All-Ireland champions and topping bookies' lists as likely winners again this year.

Their first-round demolition of Tipperary didn't yield a whole heap of data and tomorrow will be more informative. The sudden rise of Limerick's hurlers has had knock-on effects for their football manager, Kerry exile Liam Kearns. Brian Begley is lost to the big ball as his hurling season will now stretch at least as far as the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

As a result and unlike Westmeath, whose under-21 achievements are now fully harnessed in pursuit of a senior breakthrough, Limerick aren't in a position to optimise their football campaign. A good show tomorrow would give them a decent shot in the next qualifier round - particularly with the seeded draw.

They have put some good challenge matches behind them, but how reliable are such exercises at this time of the year? Kerry's forward machine looked smooth against Tipperary. Tomorrow should be a step up but not sufficient to disconcert the holders.