It's 2008 since Tipperary hurlers last claimed a Division1 league title and manager Michael Ryan is keen for his charges to have a serious cut of this year's competition.
Ryan was speaking in the aftermath of a facile 16-point win over Dublin at Croke Park to get their 1A campaign off to a winning start.
And while the Tipp boss wasn't getting carried away with the result, saying that "you can't judge anything on February hurling", he is nevertheless keen for his charges to show well in this spring campaign ahead of their quest to retain their All-Ireland title.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Ryan said: "There are only two of the 41 guys on our panel who have a league medal and so it is a great target for us."
'This guy really stood out' - Jackie Tyrell was impressed by the five-point contribution of Tipperary's Aidan McCormack #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/8s3jB1jgCr
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 12, 2017
"We have a very poor recent history in this competition. I know it's far too early to be talking about winning it. Let's talk about trying to reach the knockout stages first."
Going far in the league will give Ryan the chance to run the rule over some of the younger members in his squad. One of those, Aidan McCormack did his chances of regular inclusion no harm either with five points from corner-forward against the Dubs.
On McCormack's contribution, Ryan added: "Aidan was with us last year and it was good to see him have a decent outing tonight.
"The ambition is to get to the business end of this and give opportunities to young fellas like Aidan to stake a claim for a place."
Looking ahead to next week's date with Waterford, the Upperchurch native is expecting "a different type of challenge against a more mature team in what will be a close contest".
