After the mad rush of the last few weeks of microwave hurling, we've some clarity this weekend.
A pair of provincial finals set for Sunday afternoon. Both titles will have the same value and enter the winners' names into the history books, but right now they feel very different to each other.
Munster is a battle. Leinster is a game.
For both Limerick and Clare, it's fair to say that victory in their latest border skirmish will represent more than the cup that goes with it.
A win on Sunday for either team is a statement. Clare's, that they have really arrived and Limerick's, that they're still standing.
In Leinster, Kilkenny and Galway have different priorities. A win would be welcomed by either side but after a gentle Leinster Championship, Derek Lyng and Henry Shefflin will wonder if their teams are prepared for what's coming beyond this Sunday.
For weeks the focus has been on the weekly thrillers down south. Meanwhile, Leinster has unravelled for Galway and Kilkenny as most thought it would.
The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick get the action going on Sunday.
Last weekend, Clare minors won their first All-Ireland since 1997, with the sons of some of the great names from the 90s playing.
It was 1998 when some of those fathers were at their peak when Clare last won Munster. The other Munster powerhouses have each won at least four provincial titles since then.
The hunger will be there, but so will the expectations of the Banner.
Clare have strung together a rare sequence of excellent performances. The county is on a high but they now meet what will feel like a wounded Limerick.
The champions handle these occasions well because they've handled so many of them.
Clare may need the validation that a title brings more than Limerick do, but within their group the Treaty need to feel their own power once more.
A win for Limerick and perhaps a third game between the neighbours later in the summer to settle it is the prediction.
Galway and Kilkenny played out a tame draw at Nowlan Park in the round-robin stage. They'll be looking for more true grit this weekend.
Kilkenny's loss the last day to a manic Wexford menace is more explicable than Galway's meek first half against Dublin.
The men in maroon likely need the boost of a big performance more than the stripey men do right now
Kilkenny must look at TJ Reid's scoring stats from play in the games against Galway, Dublin and Wexford and wonder if time is catching up with the great one at last.
Galway get the verdict as it might matter more to them.
Finally, the hurling world is a poorer place this week with the loss of Teddy McCarthy – the man who lit up so many games and microwaved entire summers with his talents, and won two All-Irelands in the same September.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and with the Sarsfields and Glanmire clubs.
Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.
Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland
Watch the Munster Hurling final, Limerick v Clare, on Sunday from 1pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to updates throughout the day on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch the Leinster Hurling final, Kilkenny v Galway, on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to updates throughout the day on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
