Donal Óg Cusack reckons the 2021 All-Ireland championship is Limerick's to lose as the field is whittled down to the final six contenders, whereas Derek McGrath senses a disparity growing between the two provinces.
Galway, installed as second-favourites at the outset, and Clare both exited the championship at the weekend, with a rejuvenated Waterford and an increasingly wily Cork progressing to the quarter-finals.
Speaking on The Sunday Game, Óg Cusack argued the remaining contenders could be broken into three tiers.
"Tier 1, Limerick. They're the favourites. Non-negotiable. It's theirs to lose now.
"Dublin, I'd put them bottom among the contenders. I like Mattie Kenny, I think he's getting the most out of them. They were very unfortunate with Covid over the last couple of weeks. Even though I think they're getting better, I don't think they've got enough in attack.
"Then, you've a middle tier of Tipperary - they're wounded, heavily wounded, would I rule them out? Absolutely not.
"You've got Waterford who've huge momentum. You've Cork, who are getting a lot more diligent in the basic grammar of the game, like attackers defending when they should be.
"And then you've got Kilkenny, who haven't gone away."
Assessing the championship final six. Limerick's to lose? Disparity between Munster and Leinster? #rtegaa #TheSundayGame pic.twitter.com/9UYqms5vwH
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Ex-Waterford manager McGrath argued that Waterford and Cork were the teams with the style best adapted to challenging Limerick for the title.
"I actually think there's a small bit of a disparity between the Munster and Leinster teams. I think that was borne out with Galway's performance at the weekend.
"I think the most likely to upset the apple cart in terms of Limerick's perceived dominance are Cork and Waterford. I think they have the game-style and the game-plan, if they get it right, to take Limerick on."
