Henry Shefflin feels Waterford are shaping up nicely for the year to come with the manner of their Allianz Hurling League victory over a Limerick team that beat them in last year's All-Ireland final.
The Déise were 1-22 to 0-21 winners on Sunday and speaking on Allianz League Sunday, 10-time former Kilkenny All-Ireland winner Shefflin said he was impressed by what he saw.
"They're defence was a lot stronger," he said, adding that there was an increase in "energy and zip".
"I think Waterford's strength, they're adding to their panel. Patrick Curran came on around the 56th minute and got three points from play when he came on. Very impressive."
He continued: "Their confidence was back, the way they played the game and used the extra man. And they mixed it up very well.
"I think they created a lot of chances and we heard that last year from one of the Bennett's saying in training that Liam Cahill and Michael Bevans say 'Go for the goal, take them on, go for the goal' and they had the energy, they had the support runners and I must say it was very impressive."
Henry Shefflin and Micheál Donoghue analyse the factors that helped Waterford to victory over Limerick #RTEGAA #RTESport #AllianzLeagueSunday pic.twitter.com/I9yELDcrHi
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 23, 2021
Former Galway manager Micheál Donoghue felt Limerick manager John Kiely will not be overly concerned by his team's winless start to the league.
"I don't think they'll be hitting the panic button," he said, adding that their results would improve as key players are reintegrated back in.
"After all they did draw the first game (against Tipperary). They will be disappointed to lose two consecutive games but I think Limerick are no different to any other team in that for the first few rounds of the league, they're going to be trying out different players and similar to every other team, you always want your best players on the field and it's been evident that the team at the start of the All-Ireland last year hasn't started for Limerick and I'm sure as they get closer towards the end of the league, you'll see all them boys back and their performances improving."
