For all the tweaks to championship structures, Clare against Cork in the Munster opener has the feel of an old-style knockout game out west.
It's must-win territory for the Banner if they want any hope of a return to the All-Ireland quarter-final stage they reached last summer.
While Tipperary-Waterford in the other quarter-final has less riding on it, with the dubious reward of a hammering by Kerry up for grabs, Colm Collins agrees that this Sunday marks the most important Munster match of his 10-year tenure.
"It probably is," says Collins. "There’s no doubt this is an important game, absolutely. We would dearly love... Our first choice would be to play in the Sam Maguire, obviously."
Collins is a self-described "dinosaur" when it comes to the calendar debate, seeing nothing wrong with the old system. Although he’s a "massive fan" of the Tailteann Cup, he'd rather not be in it.
As with his entire reign, he’s adapting to the changed environment of an early April throw-in.
"It’s interesting. From someone who is preparing a team, you are saying, 'God, I would love to have a little more time’, and then from the players' point of view, they are saying ‘it is great, it is fantastic'.
"I have always said if the players like it, that’s it, it can’t be too wrong. We will see how it goes."
Did he consider packing it in after the success of last year?
"The most important thing is the players," says Collins. "What we have done in the past, we have given them the opportunity to have their say on that anonymously.
"The minute that percentage would drop I would be gone because I don’t think you would have any hope of success unless 80/90% of the players are on your side.
"Now, you will never keep everyone happy but it is awfully important. That is what has happened over the years I have been in there.
"This is my dream job and I have been very lucky to get this opportunity over the past 10 years.
"It is like a kid that supports Man United and you end up managing them. That is what it is like for me. I have enjoyed every minute of it.
"Obviously, it will come to an end but when it does, I won’t have any regrets."
Relegation back to Division 3 for the first time since 2016 was a disappointment after losing two games in the final kick.
Collins insists there’s nothing unfair about the league, with any dropped points "our own fault". His strongest self-criticism regards the 0-14 to 0-04 defeat away to Derry, "cat altogether", as Collins describes it.
Being opened up for five goals at Croke Park by the same opposition the previous summer cast a long shadow as Collins created his tactical plan.
"We were a bit too cautious, I felt. If I had my time to play back that game, I would have done things differently. Overall, it was a shambles of a display but I think we have pretty much put all those to bed.
"When you finish the league, you realise in two weeks you will be playing in the Munster Championship so the hangover stops very quickly."
Clare’s only other heavy league defeat came against Sunday’s opponents Cork at Cusack Park. Collins believes the psychology of the last-kick losses to Kildare and Dublin impacted that performance.
Cork are also parking an up-and-down league which featured three wins, a draw, and three losses. That victory over Clare is irrelevant to Cork on Sunday, says rival manager John Cleary.
"I don’t think it will have any bearing. They say you learn from a defeat than you do in victory and Clare got a view of us and what we’re about."
What Cork have been about in the league is scoring goals, bagging a joint-highest 14 across seven games with Westmeath and Laois. Three of those came against Clare.
"We scored 14 goals but I think we missed 18. We had 32 goal chances so we must get better at that," says Cleary.
"Mattie Taylor (2-02) and Seán Powter (4-02) have been very good. Maybe it is some of our forwards up the field who'd be noted goalscorers haven't been getting them. We have been working on it.
"Against Limerick, we took most of them but other games that would have mattered a bit more, we didn't.
"We have been working on it and hopefully if we get the chances in championship, those lads will put them away."
Cleary’s assessment of Cork’s progress mirrors their league finish - mid-table.
"It has been a bit topsy-turvy. We had some outstanding passages in games and then some not so good.
"Overall, we are at the midway point in where we thought we'd like to get to in the league. It was mixed.
"Our structure was pretty good. Bar the Meath game, I didn't think we were opened up for that many goal chances. And then, on the other hand, we created an awful lot of goal chances. Our scoring was quite good although we left a lot of scores behind us.
"There was probably a couple of games, namely the Louth game, that we didn't manage very well coming down the straight and that is what we've got to learn from."
Cleary puts that down, in part, to inexperience, with five of his preferred six defenders aged 24 or younger.
The backroom experience of former Galway boss Kevin Walsh has been a major addition, though.
"We are delighted with Kevin. He is an excellent coach. He has gelled very well with the lads. So far, we are thrilled the way it has worked out.
"Hopefully it will even get better and evolve from here but up to now, we are delighted with Kevin."
It will be the first Munster meeting between these two since 2015, with Collins sensing the "special aura" of championship in the air.
"There’s nothing like playing your neighbours," agrees Cleary, "and Cork have played Clare an awful lot of times in recent years.
"A healthy rivalry has built up and I’m sure it will be no different on Sunday."
