We're just three matches away from the final ding of the 2023 microwave hurling championship and first up on Saturday evening is Galway versus Limerick, a repeat of last year's semi-final.
When Galway play Limerick, we always say that they have the size to cope with them. But by this stage, Galway have done more than enough for us to retire that cliche.
Matching Limerick physically just gets you sitting at the table. After that it's about focus and cunning and that's a worry for Henry Shefflin.
Galway haven't shown 70-plus minutes of focus yet this season. Still, there's always hope in Galway.
Since they broke through in that famous final against Saturday's opponents in 1980, hope has kept the Tribesmen alive.
They have won three finals since then and lost ten. There's always next year. However, they know they have a chance this weekend.
They don't know if they're ruthless enough to take it though. Facing a Limerick defence where Declan Hannon and Sean Finn are marked off 'as láthair', has to be seen as an opportunity.
All the more so as in Conor Whelan, Galway have one of the most in-form forwards in the country right now.
How will Limerick cope? A lot of talk is on Dan Morrissey moving out and filling in at number six as he did earlier in the championship and league in spring.
The downside there is a full-back line without both Finn and Morrissey. Galway teams are seldom short of decent forwards and John Kiely is too cautious a man to regard Whelan as the only threat.
The challenge for Galway is similar to that facing their neighbours Clare on Sunday. Their forwards can get the ball but their wastefulness is almost sinful.
Sixteen wides against Dublin, 18 against Tipperary the last day out, 18 in last year's semi-final against Limerick.
Those are numbers a manager's bad dreams are made of. Galway have conceded ten goals this championship so far. Limerick even with all their struggles, have conceded only three.
So how much emphasis should Galway place on stopping Aaron Gillane? It's hard to see them not deploying Cathal Mannion in that left pocket of defence, hoping that he'll cut out Gillane's favourite supply line.
They tried this last year also - Gillane got six from play. Have they learned to do it better? And if you do stop him, Tom Morrissey has stepped up his scoring threat.
Limerick also have all sorts of options at centre-forward.
Gearóid Hegarty's scoring stats are the lowest since his debut season in 2016, with no goals yet in league or championship. But in the space of Croke Park, he's due a big performance. It all adds up to the same total as last year.
Galway have a bit of everything but so far haven't shown enough of one thing: Ruthlessness.
Limerick have enough of everything, even when the key players are missing, but mostly they have experience, grit and the knowledge that when their backs are against the wall, the only thing to do is keep moving forward.
We're backing them to advance to their fourth final in a row.
Our second semi-final is also a repeat pairing from last year: Clare vs Kilkenny.
Will Clare make it one step further to a trilogy of games against Limerick?
The Cats have passed through the peak Cody era, transitioned and are on to eight years without an All-Ireland title - a drought by their standards.
Having said that, old habits die hard. The stripey men can still cast a spell. The Leinster final and that last-second goal reminded us that they haven't gone away.
When Kilkenny smell weakness, they exploit it. Clare are almost the opposite. It's ten years this September since Davy Fitzgerald led them to that famous victory.
With all those young lads, we assumed that All-Ireland title would just be the first of many. The Banner have been magic to watch at times over the past two seasons and would it be a huge shock if everything clicked for them in Croke Park this weekend and they blew Kilkenny away? Not really.
But it will be less surprising if Kilkenny soak up Clare's early pressure and then picked them off efficiently as the clock runs down.
The Cats lost the league final to Limerick badly. We said then that Limerick had done to Kilkenny what Kilkenny used to do to everybody else.
Looking back though, Derek Lyng won't have shed too many tears after that beating. He had his players where he wanted them.
They had a copybook full of lessons to absorb. They knew the distance they needed to travel.
For Brian Lohan, what will worry him most will be their wastefulness. Even against Dublin at one stage, Clare had a run of seven misses in a row. They'd be Munster champions now with a little more accuracy.
Clare need a vintage Tony Kelly performance. Mikey Butler, like last year, is bound to be a willing hound.
The outcome of this individual contest will be decisive and their duel is worth the entry fee to Croke Park alone.
Twelve months ago, in this fixture, Kilkenny went through to the final with 12 points to spare. It will be tighter this time and expect more fireworks from the Banner. But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As time brings TJ back to the level of ordinary mortals, Kilkenny have the luxury of seeing Eoin Cody coming off the Ballyhale production line and a Kilkenny full-forward line filled out by Cody, Reid and - at times - Walter Walsh could take more watching than Clare are capable of.
We think that will be the difference as Sunday unfolds.
Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-finals, Limerick v Galway (Saturday at 6pm) and Clare v Kilkenny (Sunday at 4pm) this weekend on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, 9.30pm
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
