There has been three weekends of games, three weeks of training, so six weeks in, and the post mortems of the game and some teams have well and truly started.
Maybe this is always the case and maybe I'm only noticing because I am now on the outside looking in, but I have never heard such snap decisions on certain teams after such a short period of time.
I read one headline this week after Limerick's defeat to Waterford which said, 'Is there a mini crisis developing in Limerick'. How could someone get so carried away six weeks in, after players been off for more than five months?
Well sorry, I know it's to get people to click on the story. That drives me round the bend. There is nothing more frustrating for me than a headline that is so left of centre, that is solely written to try and draw in a crowd. But that's the nature of the debate and commentary these days.
A number of people have expressed concern over Limerick's performances over recent weeks, and I for one can't understand that. Without doubt, at times, the greater population believe that inter-county players are machines. It's really only now I am starting to see that.
Of course Liam Cahill and his group will be delighted to get a win over this Limerick team who had their number last year, and so they should be. But when you really break it down, how much will that game matter in the months ahead if both teams cross paths again?
Very little.
Looking at team selection, Liam Cahill went all out to try and get a victory, where on the other hand John Kiely, who would of course have loved a victory also, ensured that his team selection was rotated and that more lads got some very valuable game time.
Twenty-nine different players have now represented Limerick in the opening three games. That is a fair amount of variation.
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What was most pleasing for me in that game was the row at the end, believe it or not. Fine, Kyle Hayes saw red, and Iarliath Daly has subsequently been cited and has received a one-match ban, but wasn’t it great to see? I mean, in recent years because officials have come so strict, and the skill level is so high and moving at such a pace, it is rare you see too much shenanigans.
I thought it was great to see Waterford not backing down from Limerick, and it was great to see Limerick row in when Kyle was outnumbered. With crowds gone the atmosphere can be dead most of the time, and we have not seen this in the last year.
Kyle was sent off for what looked like a strike action, and Iarlaith Daly saw red for a kick, but none of the other players involved did either and were never going to get sent off. They went in to back up their team-mate, throw out a few verbals no doubt, and stand up for one and other.
Limerick are All-Ireland champions and of course they are going to be targeted every single game. It is essentially up to the players to ensure discipline is to the forefront of their mind, while also ensuring that they won't be bullied on the pitch.
There is plenty of ways of doing that of course, while never leaving yourself open to being sent off. Gone are they days where you can give a Dinny Allen slap, or respond with a Paidí punch.
In Ireland, it is nearly like a culture that when things go bad, or someone does a bad job, that it will be spoken about loudly and dissected under a microscope. But on the other, when someone does a good job, they may be praised, kind of, and that's it.
How many times have we been in a situation where there is three people having a chat, one person leaves, and then the other two discuss together how much of a lovely person he or she is?
We're not good at praising someone to their face, as a general rule. And so it brings me to the referees...
They have come in for a fair share of criticism since the games have started, but last weekend, John Keenan and Paud O'Dwyer were very, very good. They left the game go as much as possible, they allowed contact, tackles and shoulders where possible.
Those games were refereed so differently to the first two weekends. The last piece of the jigsaw now is to try get rid of the 'advantage rule’, but the two lads refereed the game to that rule and done very well.
People are very quick to jump and take to social media when a ref has had a stinker or when he makes some mistakes, so I think it's also very important to highlight when they do well in an incredibly difficult job.
Whatever was said by their bosses to the referees before last weekend, or at least the two men named above, more of it as this season - only six weeks old - moves on.
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