We haven't yet reached the summer and some teams are already staring down the barrel of championship elimination.
Perhaps not mathematically, but mentally, if certain teams fall to defeats this weekend after first round losses. Such is the nature of this championship beast we have right now.
I am all for the split season as a club player and a hurling fan, but are we expecting top level championship hurling right now in league weather?
It was a wet, cold and miserable night in Salthill last Saturday night for Wexford's trip to Galway.
It wasn’t much warmer on Sunday in Thurles for Limerick's defeat of Waterford, and to be honest, I have seen the hallowed turf of Semple Stadium looking better for championship hurling.
This is in no way a dig at the grounds people, but more an observation that the weather hasn’t allowed it to flourish and grow just yet.
Irish weather means we could have wind and rain in summer months, but at least you’d be able to feel your hands.
What I’m saying is I love the present, but maybe it could be wrapped a bit better.
Pushing the start of the hurling championship back a few weeks would only have a small impact on the club scene.
If club championships were to begin the mid-August, rather than the end of July, they could still be run off smoothly and finish up at the same time in October.
The only counties affected would be the two that reach the All-Ireland final, a small price to pay in the overall scheme of things.
For example, here in Tipperary the club championships are scheduled to get started on 30 July, a week after the All-Ireland final.
If the Premier County managed to get to the final, there would be no issue with pushing those games back a couple of weeks, mainly because most of the county could still be stranded in Loughmore, the home of our captain Noel McGrath, until Tuesday or Wednesday.
I mean what a complaint to have, isn’t it terrible the matches had to go back two weeks because we're in the All-Ireland final?
The weather this weekend will be around the 11 degrees mark, it was warmer in February.
Some of the greatest championship games were played in much better conditions. So for me keep the format, it’s spot on, just push it back a little and let it start in May.
Have Waterford done us a favour or just poked the beast?
Waterford took it to the wire on Sunday, but I have no doubt when they woke Monday morning Davy Fitzgerald and co will rue those nine wides they hit in the second half whilst holding Limerick to just seven points in a whole half of championship hurling.
Just three of those came from play, but the majority of the second half was with the Treaty men down to 14 men after the dismissal of Gearóid Hegarty.
With the former Hurler of the Year off the pitch, both teams scored half a dozen points until the final whistle was blown.
After referee Liam Gordon brandished the red card, Waterford had the next two shots at goal, but both went wide.
Then Tom Morrissey stepped up with a wonder score and the gap was back to three rather than it being a draw at the 50th minute.
Have the Deise given the rest of us some form of a blueprint for success or have they merely awoken a sleeping giant? Are Clare smelling blood, or will Brian Lohan's side face the full wrath of this on Saturday night in Caherdavin?
So what worked well for Waterford?
Limerick went short (inside the 45) with 16 puckouts, but Waterford never allowed Barry Nash get one of those to start the build-up.
They also ignored the Kyle Hayes side of the pitch, particularly in the first half and flooded the opposite side so as to avoid the rangy wing-back getting on ball and driving forward to set up attacks or score himself.
When Hayes did try to get forward, he was unceremoniously dragged to the ground on a few occasions and then ended up getting booked along with Mikey Kiely for some altercation. I had a bird's eye view of this from the radio box in Thurles and that was a headscratcher. Little did we all know that was mild compared to what was to follow in the game.
I think Limerick will take more learnings from this than worries. No panic button will be pushed and in front of their home crowd, I feel a serious performance is coming.
Captain Declan Hannon went off early and what he does for the team with his distribution and driving forward for those inspirational scores is hard to replicate. He will be a serious loss, but the losses seem less when you have an All-Star to bring in and fill the gap left with Mike Casey.
For Clare there may be more worries than learnings.
What to do they do around the goalkeeper position, stick or twist? Where best to play Tony Kelly? How to tighten up defensively, because if they concede two goals Saturday night, let alone five like they did against Tipp, they will not win.
I like this Clare team and there is massive talent and potential in the group. We didn’t see it last Sunday, but putting David Fitzgerald back in midfield will help change the dynamic for them.
This is a big moment for Brian Lohan and this Clare group. This is an opportunity to prove to themselves and others that they are a good team, that they can compete with the best and they’re not done yet.
Result aside against Limerick, a massive performance is needed to reinstall that belief and confidence to go and qualify from Munster, but a bad beating could be curtains for them mentally this year and maybe the end of the road for their manager who is in year four of this project.
I have a feeling the Banner will come with everything, perform much better as a group and will be very close to Limerick come the final whistle, but still fall the wrong side of the result.
Colm Lyons is the man assigned to take charge of this game and I hope some will ask afterwards, "who was the ref again today?" because then we will know he didn’t need to have much impact in the game.
Waterford will travel to Leeside without one of their leaders in Tadgh De Burca. Will this change the way they set up without their best player in that sweeping role?
Or will they stick with this system with Jack Fagan or Calum Lyons taking over the role?
I’d let Lyons pick one of Cork's go-to guys after the great job he did on Cian Lynch and let Fagan sweep up behind. It’s up front where the improvements need to happen and their efficiency on the ball, with just six scores from play from 23 shots in the second half last time out.
A victory over Cork would kickstart their championship. The Rebels are an unknown quantity thus far. There are players out, players in, and nobody is really sure just what the team will be or how they’ll line up.
Maybe that’s how manager Pat Ryan wants it, the long grass approach. I think the Deise will take great heart from the Limerick game. They will be up to the pitch of championship hurling and if they can bring that same intensity and hunger that we saw in Thurles, then I think they will edge it.
Leinster to come to life?
Dublin versus Westmeath aside, I think there is real potential for some fireworks at the weekend in Leinster.
As strange as it sounds, it could be more so in Wexford Park rather than in Nowlan Park.
The two kingpins go head-to-head in Kilkenny, and I'm certain Henry Shefflin and Galway won’t be taking this as a 'we’ll see ye again in the Leinster final' sort of game.
They’ll go for this 100%, and Kilkenny likewise, as they still have to go to Wexford Park and this current Wexford group are not afraid of playing the Cats.
In fact they probably have the best record of any Wexford team in championship history versus their decorated neighbours.
But it’s the clash of Antrim and Wexford that intrigues me. The Saffrons are off the back of a really good performance where they should have won against Dublin, but can they back that up now on the road?
This is their watershed moment to announce to the hurling world that they're a good team and not here to make up the numbers anymore.
They need that Corrigan Park performance and more to get this done on Saturday in Wexford.
They are meeting the Yellowbellies at possibly the best time with Damian Reck and Lee Chin set to still be out of action and this game is one Wexford would have earmarked as a two-pointer when the fixtures were made.
Interestingly, the respective managers, Darren Gleeson and Darragh Egan, would be great friends.
They travelled the road to Thurles together each night for training for many years and they were always two men to ask how things were going in the camp. They also possess brilliant hurling brains.
They’ll park that friendship during the game and if needed they’ll hop off each other on the sideline to help get their team over the line, and then will shake hands afterwards and leave it on the field, such is the respect they have for one another.
If Clare were to beat Limerick it would surprise many, but it would be a massive upset if Antrim were to get a result against Wexford.
Victory would set them up perfectly to qualify from Leinster and what an achievement that would be.
