Eddie Brennan is hoping that Waterford rediscover the appetite to take on the opposition man for man in their All-Ireland semi-final against Cork.
The practice of playing an extra defender back as a 'sweeper' is again under the microscope after both Waterford and their beaten opponents Wexford employed the tactic in last Sunday's quarter-final.
"Derek McGrath's system has to be able to evolve from a defensive system," Brennan told 2FM's Game On. "You can't just defend all match, you have to be able to outscore your opposition.
"I think Waterford have the firepower to do that, but when you look at what he had the courage to do last year in the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny, they went 15-on-15 that day and worked very, very hard.
"They ended up being six or seven points up coming down the straight. We all know what happened after that, but it was the same in the replay - they went toe-to-toe with Kilkenny and showed they were well able to do it.
"I understand why they would do it but you have to be able to move from one the other. Maybe Austin Gleeson does that going up and down the field."
McGrath could be forced into switching things up after Waterford sweeper Tadhg de Burca was sent off on Sunday but, should de Burca be forced to serve a suspension, Brennan believes there is an able deputy in place.
"I think they have a guy well able to do it in Darragh Fives. He filled in for Tadhg de Burca earlier in the year and did a right good job at it."
Brennan believes the system employed most notably by Waterford and Wexford takes away the "element of wildness and fear" away from Championship hurling, but understands why teams employ it.
The defensive set-up has come under criticism from a wide range of hurling fans and pundits for its negative approach to the game, with Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald hitting back at the likes of RTÉ analyst Michael Duignan for tweets sent during Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by the Deise.
Sweepers should be outlawed! Not the game I love. Coach players to tackle & to use their heads instead of using extra backs to compensate!
— Michael Duignan (@DuignanMichael) July 23, 2017
While former Kilkenny goal machine Brennan understands the appeal of the system in certain circumstances, he insists it can only be effective when a team has the versatility to switch things up when necessary.
"I can understand both sides of it," he said. "Because whether we like it or hate it, it can be effective at nullifying the potential of attacking teams.
"In 2009 and going back to 2004, we squared off against Anthony Daly's Clare and Dublin sides and he put back an extra man, and we struggled with it.
"It's finding the balance between still committing to attack and maybe rolling from a defensive set-up.
"He's quite entitled to play whatever way he wants and I don't think the people of Wexford will be giving out about the system"
"As I saw it against Kilkenny (in the Leinster semi-final), Davy went with the sweeper at the start but after about 15 minutes he went straight up 15 on 15 - he committed to attack and they actually gave Kilkenny fierce bother in that period of time.
"Then once he had his foothold in the match and his team were playing with confidence, he went back to Shaun Murphy as a sweeper and he mopped up.
"Davy Fitz goes with the system and that system has been successful in his opinion. I think it has brought Clare to an All-Ireland, they ultimately won it by attacking in an All-Ireland final.
"He's quite entitled to play whatever way he wants and I don't think the people of Wexford will be giving out about the system because it's brought them a year in which they beat Kilkenny twice, to a Leinster final and an All-Ireland quarter-final."
While Wexford have reaped some of the positives of the sweeper system this year, they were also caught out by it at the weekend, as Waterford came out on top at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
"I think the system itself is so dependent on being so precise, there is very little room for manoeuvre," Brennan said. "One mistake by a Wexford corner-back and Kevin Moran got the decisive goal for Waterford.
"Until a team maybe wins with an out-and-out sweeper, we'll continue to criticise it. And Davy said it himself - it's ultimately an admission that your players aren't good enough to take on a forward unit in their pomp. This is how to stifle them a bit.
"So I can understand why he would do it, but personally I'm not a fan of it.
"Diarmuid Lyng wrote an article last week and he described hurling as being about an element of wildness and fear and I think that's what sums up a Championship match.
"I remember going into matches being afraid, thinking 'I don't know what's going to happen here, but we'll see what happens'.
"That wildness of Championship hurling was lacking in both those matches at the weekend, where both teams just have a go."
