All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2023 ( Munster And Leinster Championships,Liam McCarthy Cup)

*or up against a team that drew the winners and beat 2nd place in Munster. Christ above... I hope you're not a fan of horse forms.

Hannon is a big loss for us. He has been the linchpin of Limerick's defence during our period of success and there is no obvious replacement. I'd be slow to move Dan Morrissey out of a full back line already missing Sean Finn, and moving Kyle Hayes from the wing would blunt his attacking threat.

Ideally you'd just make a direct replacement without having to shuffle other players around. Would be a big gamble to slot Ronan Connelly in given a total lack of playing time, but he is a natural centre back and it would minimise disruption elsewhere.

From a Limerick point of view I am very worried about this semi final. I also cannot see Clare beating Kilkenny. A glimmer of hope for me though is Galway show a reluctance to see games out.

I have a feeling what we saw from Tipperary on Saturday wasn't just a symptom of their preparation. But of the toll the season had taken on them up to that point mentally, especially the Munster campaign and it could manifest in Limerick and Clare again also.

I went to the double header on Saturday as a neutral and for 30 minutes Clare didn't impress me one bit either. I thought they looked lethargic but were just up against vastly inferior opposition. Off the boil for long periods. People said last year against Wexford that once they won they could move on mentally but it wasn't the case.

The Tipperary and Clares I watched in the flesh in Thurles and twice in the Gaelic Grounds were not at the same level to those I watched last Saturday.

It's not a fitness or conditioning thing as Clare and Tipp lasted well for the full games. It's above the shoulders. In all fairness to Dublin and Wexford there is a gulf between them and the top teams. Typically they need a team to have an off day when it comes to the business end for them to have a chance. That's just the reality of it.

2019 Tipp v Laois

2022 Clare v Wexford

2022 Cork v Galway

2022 Clare v Kilkenny

2023 Tipp v Galway

2023 Clare v Dublin 1st half

All under performances in my book. And not just againt Galway or Kilkenny, but Laois, Wexford and Dublin too. Coupled with our least impressive showings in the latter stages last year also.

If I was a betting man, I'd lump on Galway and Kilkenny. This years Munster was great entertainment but I think its come at a cost. We've had 4 weeks but again it's not physical recovery we've to worry about in my book. Asking amateur players to peak mentally again and again and again is a tall order. Galway and Kilkenny can bridge the Provincial to all Ireland gap much easier. Does anybody really think Galway and Kilkenny were at full pitch in Leinster? That if they played this years Wexford or Dublin in a knockout quarter or semi final in the All Ireland that the games would be as close as they were in Leinster? Not a chance.

Galway to win the All Ireland this year.

So that's the first time Galway have won three championship clashes on the spin against the old enemy. They have now beaten Tipp on four of the last five championship clashes. I also remember Galway hammering Tipp in the 2017 National League final. Tipp were hopeless that day if i remember right.

I thought Tipp were dreadful on Saturday and i don't buy this excuse that Munster took a lot out of them. I heard Liam Sheedy mention this on the Sunday Game last night. Maybe they were a bit spent for the Waterford game after the Limerick draw the week prior but they've had plenty of time to recover both mentally and physically and a handy training game v Offaly.

Winning a solitary game in the last two championship's (not counting Offaly who are out of their depth) and departing this year with a whimper suggests that Tipp are just not good enough at present.

I don't think former great players like Seamus Callinan, Bonnar Maher and Noel McGrath have much more to offer. A lot of the newer lads looked very average on Saturday.

Putting former midfielder Breen back fullback and former wing back Kennedy to wing forward all seems a bit like putting a square peg into a round hole.

Liam Cahill looked very deflated in his post game interview on Saturday. Maybe he realises the job is going to a lot more difficult than first imagined.

It may take a while for Tipp to be dining at the top table again.

Yes not a bad managerial CV at all. Cahill wasn't making excuses on Saturday either. He knew Tipp were lucky to be within touching distance near the end. He will know how big the job is to try and succeed with this Tipp team more than anyone.

My point is your form logic makes zero sense. You are denigrating Galway by virtue of their opposition: beating a team that "failed to beat 4th and 5th in Munster".

Yet the same logic says Galway beat a team who drew/beat 1st and 2nd in Munster. You make zero sense.

Been catching up on the posts on here. All the talk of the 'x' best team in Munster and the 'y' best team in Leinster reminds me of Kevin Cashman's articles for one of the Sunday papers (the Sunday Tribune I think) back in the 90s. He seemed to have a serious grievance against Limerick and didn't refer to them by name, instead he referred to them only as 'the third best team in Munster'. He did this throughout the 1996 season when they won Munster after epic clashes with Clare in the Munster semi-final and Tipperary in the final. It used to drive me nuts.

Don't worry he will change the narrative to suit his argument more than likely limerick had too many injuries or munster championship took its toll on the players