Above in RTÉ last Sunday afternoon, I was surrounded by two Cork men. Donal Óg Cusack reckoned that by John Kiely putting out the team that he did, Cork were really on a hiding to nothing. I'm not so sure about that though.
OK, if they came down and won the game by two or three points possibly, but they really put in a devastating first half performance. They were awesome.
We are all very quick to give out or have a comment when things go wrong, or management make mistakes. Kieran Kingston and Co came in for a share of criticism after last year's All-Ireland, and at the final whistle that was no easy place to be. But credit the Cork management team, they got things spot on.
From Limerick's puck-out, they let the full-back line have the ball. They didn't dive into the tackle to create an overlap, which a lot of teams do. They then ensured, or at least tried really hard to ensure, that the next 20-30 yard pass was closed down and turned over. Or if Limerick hit it long that they were so deep they would interrupt it there.
The biggest one for me though was the 30-40 yard horizontal pass across the field. Whether that was to their goalkeeper or the opposite half-back. Limerick and indeed most teams crowd the area where the ball is, and try to turn it over. But Cork seemed to have learned a lot.
Ciarán Joyce will be a huge player for them, and he is a great asset. Big, strong, powerful, and quick. And obviously well able to hurl on top of it. He is a big cause of optimism on Leeside, but they won't be getting carried away.
I actually can't wait for the first round of the Munster Championship. I have no doubt that on the back of last weekend, it will give Cork great confidence in turning over Limerick. It is going to be some atmosphere and remind us of what we have really missed for the last two years.
Of course there are many people asking questions about Limerick, and you can understand why. I think when John Kiely sat down at the start of this year and looked at the league, he would have preferred to know his panel inside out, give them game time, see who is stepping up and who is ready for championship, rather then worrying about a league semi-final or final.
Yes, if they got there great, but I can't imagine it was a top priority. As he said himself last weekend, they go out to win every game, but when you are playing full-strength teams who are mad to take you down, and when you are trying new players, it's hard.
They have an ideal lead in. They play Clare in Cusack Park this weekend and it will be a dry run for them ahead of the championship meeting there, they then have Offaly before four uninterrupted weeks of a lead in.
So while all others counties are getting optimistic and see the gap closing, there isn’t need for much panic on Shannonside yet.
The other team who I have been mightily impressed with is Wexford. I have believed for the last four years they have a team that’s good enough to fight for top honours. When you go through their team they are seriously balanced, with some of the country's top players.
I don’t know Darragh Egan or the sky above him, but what I have heard over the last number of years is how well regarded he is. They seem to be tipping away working hard, and going to Ennis to beat Clare, and Salthill to beat Galway is no easy thing to do.
I often wonder come the end of the championship would we look back and laugh at some of our comments and predictions from throughout the league, but I don’t think so this year. Wexford will surely be in the first three in Leinster.
They will keep progressing, with Lee Chin still to come back in, why can't they be in Croke Park come July?
Looking forward to this weekend, there are some cracking games to look forward to. How did we survive without it really! Cork welcome galway to 'The Park’. The big thing I am most looking forward to seeing now is can Cork keep on building and be consistent when the rabbit is out of the hat, and when they are expected to.
I do believe so, but they have been highly-spoken about after last week and at times that can cause a dip. Galway have announced a very strong team though, and I think Henry is coming and looking for two points, big time.
Galway were poor last weekend, and he will not want the same performance two weeks in a row.
The Dubs take on Kilkenny. They are working really hard this year, playing a lovely brand of hurling and have a really balanced and experienced side at this stage. Kilkenny don’t at this moment in time.
Yes, it's all about championship, and Brian Cody has went snooping to see what he has. The Ballyhale lads could be back this weekend, although one player that wont be is TJ Reid. He is sunning himself on his honeymoon, and isn’t he dead right!
The big clash of the weekend is down in Walsh Park, where Tipperary travel to Waterford. That should be some battle. The talk about Liam Cahill not taking the Tipp job will create most of the talk, but that won't come into it.
He has a Waterford side who he believes can win an All-Ireland. He will want to ensure no team comes to Walsh Park and turns them over. It is no easy task for Tipperary to go down there and do that, and even though both teams meet in the first round of the championship, they will both want to send out a marker.
The last of the four big games is Limerick v Clare. At a guess, I would think whatever is Limerick’s strongest 15 will be put out on the field. Another loss here and the talk would be doubled, and a win would take a bit of pressure off them, as if they lost, the alarm bells would possibly start to ring.
From Clare's perspective, surely that will come out here like ravenous dogs, wanting to take a big scalp. They will be wound up in their own back yard.
Limerick beat them too easy in the Munster League final, and knowing that they play them there in nine weeks' time, I would be shocked if the Banner don’t go and sow it into them on Sunday afternoon.
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