Michael Duignan believes a huge opportunity awaits Waterford's hurlers on Saturday as they try to end their recent Munster Championship hoodoo.
The Déise are the only county yet to emerge from the current round-robin format since it was instituted in 2018, however they did progress in 2020 and 2021 when the old qualifier system was installed temporarily during the Covid 19 pandemic.
But a victory over All-Ireland champions Clare in their opening round match at Walsh Park last week has put Peter Queally's side in a good position to try and get the all-important second win that would put them in a brilliant position to seal a top three spot in the table for the first time in this modern configuration of the championship.
Walsh Park will be the venue again and this time the visitors will be Limerick, who started the defence of their Munster crown with a draw against Tipperary.
While observers wait to see if Limerick will be as potent as they have been at previous staging points of their golden era, All-Ireland winning former Offaly hurler Duignan sees Saturday as an opportunity that Waterford can seize particularly given it's on home soil and they have also developed "many plusses" within their panel.
"There are question marks (over Limerick) and I think it is a great opportunity for Waterford," he said on Thursday's RTÉ GAA Podcast.
"I think they have very little to lose in this game. Last week there was pressure on them because of their poor record and where they've been.
"But they knew themselves and we talked about it last week, (there's) a sense that they really have bought into Peter Queally.
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"It's a real Waterford thing. Sometimes an outside manager can work really well and I think it was the time for them to close shop and they've done that and getting two home games in a row, just the way the draw went, I think is very significant as well.
"So they have a great chance but I am expecting a much better performance from Limerick as well."
Aside from home advantage, Duignan added that he will be intrigued to see how Waterford navigate the tight six-day turnaround since beating Clare, particularly with Limerick having had an extra week of rest and preparation.
"I think another factor in the six days is that the game last Sunday by Munster hurling standards wasn't the most intense of games," he said.
"Clare were very flat. They were missing Diarmuid Ryan, Conor Cleary, Tony Kelly, Shane O'Donnell and even from the off, they looked affected by the game the week before against Cork - the effort it took maybe to get back into that game having been 12 down.
"So I think it is a big factor. Week on week, and I said it last week as well, (in my day) we had minimum three weeks between every match and you have that week after to really relax for a few days, get yourself right and back in training."
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Watch a provincial football final double-header, Kerry v Clare (1.45pm) and Mayo v Galway (4pm) on Sunday from 1.15pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
