I think form lines are hard to read going into this years championships. Limerick handles Waterford with relative ease last August but the caveat on that was that Waterford were playing their fourth week on the trot and it seemed as though they simply didnāt have the power in the legs to live with Limerick once the adrenaline wore off after 20 minutes or so.
They have a handful of lads back from injury and good depth to their panel now and a continuity to them that most sides donāt. If there is a team to stop Limerick this year then they look like the side best placed.
Cork on the otherhand got a number of breaks and rode them to an A/I final but donāt seem to have learned all that much from the final defeat. They are a fine side when they get their running game going and a bit of momentum but the structural issues are still there. If they can play on their terms they will put up a score but how likely will that be in the championship. They are really short a ball winner at half forward, industry at midfield and a couple of defenders who can hold things together when the going gets tough. Putting Joyce to centre back and Millerick to wing back might well make their half backline a more solid unit but then you are only shifting lads like Coleman and Fitzgibbon up the field and addressing the symptom rather than addressing the cause. I think both Coleman and Fitzgibbon have bags of talent but I find it rather perplexing that both are now in and around 25 yet look to be the same size and shape they were when they burst on the scene in 2017. I donāt know if they have naturally light frames or what but there are just too many lads in that middle third for Cork who simply donāt want to know consistently about the hard yards. I think they may well raise it for one of the early games but I think the round robin and elimination of a potential soft draw doesnāt play to their strengths.
They wonāt beat Limerick 3 times in the one championship though. Ideally theyāre waiting for them in the long grass in the All-Ireland and catch them on the hop. Thatās the time you want to be beating Limerick, not in the Munster Round Robin like Clare in 2018 or Tipp/Cork in 2019.
You would think the longer the year goes on the more momentum and back into their flow Limerick will get though. Waterford need to know they can at the very least match Limerick in the round robin.
Losing a tight one to limerick in the group stages wouldnāt be the worse thing in the world especially if they land a few body blows.
Iāve a feeling limericks year could revolve around a red card. Thereās been issues obviously with players already and weāve been lucky once or twice. Cusack started a campaign against us in the league. Wouldnāt be shocked if the refs are really pressured into sending somebody off.
Going by their track record Limerick generally commit at least one red card offence per game so with the round robin youād expect thereās more chance that they get caught for one or two
I very much agree. His ability to pick quickly ground ball in front of him is terrific. He has an excellent step and his striking, off both sides, is solid and reliable.
His ātacklingā sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, though.
