Former All-Ireland winner Shane McGrath feels Limerick showed signs of tiredness in their one-point loss to Clare in Saturday's thrilling Munster round-robin game in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Having survived a major onslaught from Waterford in the opening round, John Kiely's side slumped to their first championship defeat of the 2020s at the weekend, a result which has blown the Munster championship wide open, with Limerick still to face in-form Tipperary and Cork sides in the coming weeks.
Whereas in both 2021 and 2022, Limerick slept-walked through their league campaigns before hitting full throttle come championship, this season they appeared to take a different tack, winning the Division 1 crown in dominant fashion in Thurles last month.
RTÉ hurling analyst McGrath is inclined to wonder if their league exertions have left them a little flatter for the start of the Munster campaign.
"Did they seem tired after the Waterford game? I felt they did," McGrath told the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"I felt for the first time in a long time, they were almost second guessing how they were going to work the ball out. We haven't seen that in a while. I felt maybe that was down to tiredness.
"Maybe it's down to the way the league went for them this year. Getting to the final. Lots of training, lots of games. They won't use it as an excuse.
"But I think from a human nature side of things, you're playing loads of games, the training is hard and everyone that's playing you is playing their All-Ireland final.
"Did Waterford play their All-Ireland final last week? And then had nothing left down in Cork.
"Are Clare after doing the same? The saving grace for Clare is they've no match for two weeks. They can recuperate."
The flipside, as McGrath points out, is that Limerick now have a three week break before they face Tipperary in Semple Stadium, Liam Cahill's side having to face Cork in the meantime.
"The team I'm most worried for now is my own county, Tipp. Limerick now have three weeks off to re-group, re-charge. Get things right. And a lot of things need to be gotten right.
"If you're looking at the shots that Limerick would normally get off in games, it'd normally be in the 50s. And their percentage would normally be up around 60-70%. This is when they're ticking.
"In the last 15 minutes of the game, Limerick got off nine shots. Clare got off 16 shots. And Clare outscored them by nine scores to six scores in that time.
"Clare finished stronger, they'd more in the tank, they looked fresher. Limerick looked a bit tired the other day."
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