And so we are down to the final game in this year's Allianz Hurling League. Defending Division 1 champions Waterford face an unbeaten Clare outfit in the decider at Semple Stadium.
Five weeks out from their championship encounter, will we witness something akin to shadow boxing in Thurles?
Not surprisingly, both camps have been talking up the opposition, with Déise boss Derek McGrath declaring Clare as "the best team in the country without a shadow of a doubt", while Banner custodian Pa Kelly equally in praise of Waterford by saying: "They've a serious system, a great management team, they're bulling fit, very fit and they're well able to play it around."
In the National League roll of honour, both counties sit on three titles to date.
Clare: 1946, 1977, 1978
Waterford: 1963, 2007, 2015
As was the case with Waterford in 2015, Clare have made the final by virtue of winning Division 1B, notching up 6-97 in their five regulation games, before scoring 4-22 against Kilkenny in the semi-final.
Waterford finished second in the Division 1A table, amassing a tally of 1-90. They struggled to overcome Wexford in the quarter-final, but were much more purposeful when booking their spot in Sunday's showdown after a 3-23 to 1-18 win over Limerick.
Clare and Waterford last met in the league on 16 March 2014. The Banner ran out convincing winners on a 5-18 to 0-20 scoreline in Ennis. Indeed, it was very much a game of two halves, with the winners in front by 4-15 to 0-04 at the break.
This year top-tier decider will, for many, evoke memories of that now infamous Munster final replay in 1998 and hard hitting we witnessed at the throw-in.
PATHS TO THE FINAL
(Clare)
Clare 2-21 Offaly 0-15
Clare 0-18 Wexford 1-11
Clare 1-21 Laois 0-16
Clare 2-28 Kerry 1-9
Clare 1-19 Limerick 0-18
Clare 2-13 Tipperary 0-18 (quarter-final)
Clare 4-22 Kilkenny 2-19 (semi-final)
Played 7, Won 7
Top scorers
Bobby Duggan 1-26
Colin Ryan 0-24
Conor McGrath 1-20
John Conlon 4-09
Aaron Cunningham 3-11
(Waterford)
Waterford 0-14 Kilkenny 0-10
Waterford 0-20 Cork 1-14
Waterford 1-18 Tipperary 1-17
Dublin 0-19 Waterford 0-14
Waterford 0-24 Galway 1-21
Waterford 0-17 Wexford 1-13 (quarter-final)
Waterford 3-23 Limerick 1-18 (semi-final)
Played 7, Won 5, Drew 1, Lost 1
Top scorers
Patrick Curran 1-33
Maurice Shanahan 0-30
Shane Bennett 1-17
Austin Gleeson 0-14
Tom Devine 2-02
