It all started with a table that shows the winners of all the major hurling trophies in Munster from 2009 to 2015. Tipperary lead the way with 15 titles and Cork prop up the table with just two successes.
It was the precursor for Donal Óg Cusack's assessment for what is wrong with Cork hurling following the senior side's 12-point defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final and a general lack of success for the county at underage level.
Cusack didn't hold back when he aired his views on The Sunday Game and said the following:
“Players must take responsibility. It's disappointing for me to have to sit here and listen to Henry Shefflin taking about Cork players not having the same spirit and not dying with their boots on.
“Jimmy (Barry Murphy) has to take responsibility but Jimmy is doing the best with what he has. He reminds me of a substitute teacher in a poor school. He's doing his best and the pupils are doing their best but the principal and the school are just a bad school.
"There are people in Cork who need to take serious responsibility for the Galway result.
"Frank Murphy (secretary of the Cork board) is the Don of (Cork) GAA and this weekend has been particularly bad weekend for hurling (and football) in Cork.
"I think there is a group of people around Frank, actually a group of stooges and yes men, and I’m not sure they’re telling Frank as to how bad things are.
"The clubs are not doing what they should be responsible for doing. They (the players) remind me of school children who are lying in bed hoping that someone will come along and call them in case they're going to be late for school. They are asleep in Rome while Rome burns.
"Yes, every person cares. Frank will give his arm for Cork to win and the group around him but they know as much about serious level sport as I know about the sleeping habits of the Ayatollah.
"There should be a director of hurling appointed in Cork who should be given a five-year contract and let him (or her) do a root and branch review.
"We have to get the underage structures right."
This is not the first time that Donal Óg Cusack has highlighted what he sees as the failures in Cork GAA.
Following Cork's defeat to Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi final almost a year ago, Cusack strongly criticised the lack of underage success in the county.
"Where are the coaching structures? Cork are investing €70m in a stadium. Centre of excellence? There's two fields there. How could that be a centre of excellence? If i was a club person I'd be looking for a review of that. That's going to turn out as a centre of mediocrity."
