The league is done. The winter is behind us and we have reached that time of year where every county believes or has a chance to believe that this could be their year.
The jerseys get dusted off, the more retro or obscure the better these days. The conversations around club grounds, pubs and offices turn to who will play, what the structure might be, and could this be the year?
The league form has offered us clues of this but rarely tells the full story. It's only in championship that we find out what teams are really about and are they ready to perform when the pressure is highest.
The Munster SHC is the greatest gift the GAA has right now, followed closely by the Ulster SFC. Most weeks it's box office and more often than not it delivers a cracker. This weekend should not sway too far away from that path.
Waterford travel to Ennis to try to get their campaign off to the best possible start and finally break the hoodoo of getting out of Munster since the round-robin was installed.
Can they do it? Their loss of Conor Prunty is on a par with the loss that Huw Lawlor is to Kilkenny.
Mark Fitzgerald is at his brilliant best in the half-back line and having to put him back in the full-back line is killing them, but needs must. That said, I would love to see him out around the six position on Sunday.
Jamie Barron has been Waterford's most consistent hurler of the past decade, so they will be praying he will be good to go for the weekend. Austin Gleeson is back, and if he sees game time, the Waterford following will give him a reception to rival the great Banner Roar.
Clare looked really sharp in that first half of their league final, in particular their inside line of Shane Meehan, Shane O’Donnell and Mark Rodgers. The worry for Clare followers was when they lost Rodgers and O’Donnell, they lost that big threat up top and their ability to hold that ball up.
If that trio are fit to start Sunday, and if I was involved in setting up Waterford, I would without doubt be sitting Tadhg de Búrca in front of O’Donnell as their plus one. Everything that was good about Clare in the Gaelic Grounds two weeks ago was conducted by O’Donnell. Quite simply, he is the man for Clare.
If O'Donnell plays well, Clare play well. He is their leader, both spiritually and skillfully, and Clare just have to have him and TK humming to be really competitive with the top teams. Without these two on the field, Clare are not a major force in the championship.
Waterford will really fancy this, but they need top performances all around the field. Clare know if they don’t win this they are going to be in serious trouble of not getting out of Munster again this year, with Limerick coming to town on 3 May for their second game.
If I had to call this one, I would fancy Clare to get the job done, but I would love to see that team sheet that is being drafted by the Clare management as to who is, and more importantly who is not, available to play.
If the dynamic duo for Clare are unavailable, in the form of O'Donnell and Kelly, this game becomes totally different.
Over the road in Tom Semple's field in Thurles, there is very little that has not been written or said about this fixture and the replay of last year's All-Ireland final, in which one team was "caught" by the other by 15 points.
Tipperary might not have got the credit on Leeside for the win, but we have enjoyed Liam McCarthy being back around the county.
Little extra motivation is needed for either side. For Tipp, it’s the claims that they did not play well in the All-Ireland final, but rather that Cork played poorly and they will have a point to prove.
Little needs to be said for Cork's motivation for this one, given the nature of the final.
The hope as a neutral is we get a humdinger between two teams who are developing a dislike for each other, with maybe a red card or two thrown in for good measure.
My heart says Tipp and my head says the same. Cork will have been hurt by their performance or lack thereof in the league final, and will come at this with all guns blazing. But Tipp will be set up for whatever they have and like round one last year against Limerick, this result could set up the year for them.
Casting an eye towards Leinster, the tie of this round has to be Galway v Kilkenny in Salthill.
A listless Kilkenny side were soundly thrashed by Galway in the league, losing the match by 0-35 to 0-17, a scoreline which represented their biggest defeat since 1954.
I was at that game and witnessed the worst Kilkenny performance I have ever seen. Like Cork, there is very little if any motivation that should be required by Derek Lyng to get the Cats up for this battle.
Kilkenny were down several key figures that day and will be much stronger. They just have a way of getting the job done year in and year out in Leinster, but I think this time may be a little different. Yes, they are going to be hard to beat, but maybe it's not as difficult a task as in previous years.
Galway are coming into this championship campaign in a much better vein of form and confidence in comparison to last year. They have a stronger panel and Michéal Donoghue has some serious options all around the field. I fancy them to get their campaign off to winning ways on Saturday.
Kildare have been the story of the league. They have given their hurling cohort real hope of the future being bright and that they are not here to be the whipping boys of Leinster again. They must perform well this weekend against Wexford, especially after the clipping they got from the Slaneysiders in the league game.
If Kildare suffer a heavy defeat this weekend, it will be so hard for Brian Dowling to steady the ship in a space of a few days as they travel to Parnell Park the following week. They do not have to win, but they have to turn up and put in a decent performance, or it could be over before it begins for Kildare.
Wexford were getting stronger as each week passed in the league and they will be coming into this fixture with renewed hope and belief that they can be really competitive again this year. Defeat here wouldn't quite be Carlow drawing with Kilkenny in terms of a shock, but it would be a big nail in their championship coffin, with Kilkenny up next in round two.
I think Keith Rossiter’s men will get this job done on Saturday.
Finally, in Tullamore, it’s hard to see which Offaly team will turn up or will be fit enough to play. They have suffered some serious personnel losses throughout the league and they, more than most, find it tough to replace the quality of these players.
If they had a full deck to choose from, we would be looking at their fixture with Dublin as trickier to call, but without the likes of Charlie Mitchell there is a dependence on Adam Screeney on the inside line. As good as Screeney is, it’s a very heavy burden to carry for any one player up top.
I was really impressed with the Dubs in the second half against Clare in the league final. They used the ball well, drove forward with great conviction, and when they threw it around, they looked really impressive.
Cian O’Sullivan is in the form of his life, John Hetherton is a serious threat and a great option as an out ball if it has to be lumped in. Fergal Whitely is moving well and I’m sure Liam Rushe wasn’t brought back in just to help out with A vs B games either.
There will be too many fires for Offaly to try and put out here on Saturday and the Dubs will get this campaign, in which I fancy them to make a Leinster final, off to winning ways.
Watch a Munster Hurling Championship double-header, Clare v Waterford (2pm) and Tipperary v Cork (4pm), on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
