Tipperary are left with much to ponder with little over four weeks to their Munster Championship opener against All-Ireland hurling champions Limerick.
The Premier men were very much second best against Clare in their Allianz Hurling semi-final on Sunday, a rather deflating finish to their league campaign.
Manager Liam Cahill admitted his side were on the backfoot after a lacklustre start at O'Moore Park, where 19 wides highlighted their profligacy in front of the posts.
Nine of those wides came from frees, where Jason Forde, Gearóid O'Connor, Willie Connors, and Seán Ryan all had turns at placed balls.
That issue was highlighted on League Sunday, and speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Antrim hurler Neil McManus said he has real concerns for Tipp heading into the championship.
💬 "One aspect that typified Tipperary today was their free-taking"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) March 24, 2024
Dónal Óg Cusack puts the spotlight on Tipp's numerous wides against Clare
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"The chopping and changing of the free-taker really almost summed up their league," he said. "It was out of sorts, it was inconsistent.
"They have Jason Forde, who is one of the best free-takers in the country. He might miss one or two, everybody misses one or two at some stage (Forde missed four against Clare).
"They switched on to Gearóid O'Connor, he missed a couple, Willie Connors had a couple at one stage and then Sean came off the bench and he had a couple.
"It was like something you’d see at an Under-16 match."
McManus says that there are many puzzles for Cahill to solve if Tipp are to emerge from Munster, and the early season signs aren't overly positive.
He watched the Premier men coast past his native Antrim in the previous round of the league, but wasn’t overly impressed by the victors, even allowing for the testing conditions at Corrigan Park on the day.
"They didn’t shoot the lights out and they had plenty of their first team out on show," he said.
"I can’t see where the goals are going to come from if Jake Morris isn’t going to get them.
"I would worry for Tipperary. There is going to be an absolute dogfight in Munster for that third spot, between Waterford, Cork and Tipp as Clare and Limerick do look stronger than everybody else.
"I’m not sure if they know who is going to play where.
"Robert Byrne in at centre-back again, I’m not sure that is the answer. It’s a really tough position for Liam Cahill."
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