The opening round of the league has come and gone, but did we learn anything we didn't already know?
Dublin looked very impressive. Cork seem to be moving well but that may be down as much to Wexford not moving at all right now due to the lack of bodies available and recent retirements.
Manager Keith Rossiter has his work cut out to get 26 guys to tog out at the moment and relegation looms already even at this early stage.
Kilkenny did what Kilkenny do best, grinding out a result away to the All-Ireland champions with an outstanding performance from Mossy Keoghan that included an absolute worldie of a point off the stick in brutal conditions to help seal the victory for the Cats.
Perhaps the biggest learning was in Salthill. For Galway it’s that there is work to do and patience could be the main thing here for Tribes followers. Tipperary’s performance demonstrated there are good young hurlers in the county and they passed the first test with flying colours.
Darragh McCarthy caught my eye, though people within the county would be well aware of the deadball specialist.
His Under-20 and club form offered him a chance to show off his potential at senior level and his tussle with Fintan Burke, particularly in the second half, will be worth a month’s training to him.
The Toomevara man was up against one of the best defenders, both in terms of hurling and in physicality, and it the long run it will benefit him greatly. Watch this space.
The standout tie this weekend is the meeting on Leeside between Cork and Limerick.
I’m expecting a huge home crowd at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and it will resemble the closest thing you will get to a championship game in January in terms of atmosphere and intensity.
Limerick players are jostling for positions, while the Rebels will be keen to prove that last year’s enthralling championship wins – including the All-Ireland semi-final – were no flukes. If you’re Limerick it’s a case of reminding everyone, nice and gently, that they haven’t gone away you know.
For both Pat Ryan and John Kiely, if a player on the fringe steps up and gives a serious performance in this environment, he will then put himself into the equation for a championship consideration.
For Cork, Padraig Power had a good game against Wexford. Can he now back that up against one of the best in the game against potentially Dan Morrissey in front of a Cork crowd now expecting their team to beat Limerick?
Same could be said for Ethan Twomey and a chance for him to show management that he has learned a lot from last year. What better test than having to try and detail Cian Lynch, Will O’Donoghue or Adam English?
On the other side, I feel English (below) has to get his chance to show what he can do as a starter. On current form, with club and college, the Doon man is one of the best hurlers in the country. The main question may be over where he plays.
Kiely could move O’Donoghue further back the field, or does club-mate Darragh O’Donovan, one of the best passers of the ball in the modern game, miss out? Whatever happens, I see a big 2025 for English.
I would also like to see Shane O’Brien getting more game time and giving the management team more selection headaches.
Many of us will also look on in curiosity to see how the replacement of one of the game’s greatest ever goalies in Nicky Quaid will perform on Saturday.
Tipperary will hope to build on their Salthill performance when Wexford arrive in Thurles, while Galway manager Micheál Donoghue will need to get more of a tune out of his side when they travel to Kilkenny.
The Cats never seem to drop off in performance, regardless of the time of year.
As I’ve said, the big show will be on in Cork on Saturday night.
These two teams, in this venue and under lights are likely to deliver what we have come to expect from this fixture – drama, passion and excitement.
I just have to check myself now…it’s only January!
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