Two games each played in the Munster hurling championship and, if you're searching for clarity, you might be better off reading tea leaves.
Quick synopsis here.
Limerick lost to Cork by two points, whilst playing with 14 men and many thought, myself included, that it'd be hard to see them get a result in Ennis minus two Hurlers of the Year and seeking to avoid their fifth championship loss in a row.
But I have learned once again to stop writing this group off, regardless of who might be absent on a given day. Limerick have their mantra of "next man up". They live and die by it and they thrived again on Sunday.
I haven’t seen an impact from their bench in a while like they got on Sunday. If you want to know how to make a debut at championship hurling, observe Fintan Fitzgerald from the Mungret club.
Exemplary first touch, skips down the sideline, strikes off his left and floats the ball over the bar. The stuff of dreams for any debutant.
These lads must have been lifting in training in recent times. When they saw that there were two spots up from grabs on the match-day panel this would also have pushed that drive into another gear.
And we saw first-hand, the trust the Limerick management have in these younger guns like Fitzgerald, Ethan Hurley and Hugh Flanagan.
Mind you, it was an ideal scenario in which to enter the fray, given the way the game had panned out. But they still delivered.
Still, it has to be taken into consideration that this was possibly the worst first half of hurling by a Clare side during Brian Lohan's reign.
People might say their spring in 1B was a factor. Maybe it was. But their issues on Sunday can't be fully explained by their league campaign in the second division.
A few small observations - early on, Diarmaid Byrnes came close to granting Shane O'Donnell his wish of going into space after doling out a ferocious hit.
But did you see any of the Clare lads coming in to make clear that Byrnes wasn't going to do that to one of their leaders without retribution?
No, is the answer.
Several times, there wasn't a glove laid on a Limerick attacker when they were going through.
The full-back line might get the blame for Shane O'Brien popping over six from play.
But it was criminal the amount of time the Limerick lads had out the field, to get their head up and pick a pass.
They nearly had enough time to check what part of the world the sliotar was made in before delivering the ball.
The problems with Clare's play will be assessed on video and by the data analysts. But the real answer lies within the players themselves - they didn't show up or bring any real fight to the game.
Clare were not ready for that battle at 2pm last Sunday. Limerick were.
So, are Limerick that good or were Clare that bad?
I think it’s a little from Column A and a little from Column B. But I wouldn’t be saying that Limerick are levels above the rest based on that performance alone. Time will tell.
The worry, as a Tipp person, is that we are going to bear the brunt of the backlash from Clare on Saturday week in Thurles.
That should be a humdinger and it's worth noting that Tipp are attempting to do something they've never done before. Namely, beat Clare in a round-robin game in Semple Stadium.
In 2018, Clare won by two to knock Tipp out of the championship. In 2022, the margin was eight points in favour of the Banner. In 2024, it was down to three but Tipperary were only playing for pride then and were halfway out the door.
This weekend, the attention is on the sunny south-east.
The Rebels roll into town. Having been in Walsh Park for the thrilling Tipp game under a fortnight ago, it's a great venue with a cracking atmosphere.
Importantly, the new stand is a dream location on a fine day, with no poles obstructing anyone's view. The pitch, meanwhile, looked almost too good to be played on.
Can Waterford get something out of this fixture? They will take massive belief from that second half performance against Tipp.
But the worry is we'll get more of what we saw in the first half. Against this Cork team, there'll be no revival from that.
Their best line-up was on the pitch in the second half. If they can get Tadhg de Burca in at No. 6 from the off, get Jamie Barron back to his best at midfield, keep Callum Lyons on the field throughout, then anything is possible.
They have a goalkeeper who is in the form of his life and kept them alive against Tipp, with Dessie Hutchinson buzzing around in the forwards, alongside the rampant Stephen Bennett.
They definitely have a solid foundation to their team and I give them a serious chance.
Another boost is that Cork arrive into town minus their No. 3 and their No. 6 - both positions they have struggled to fill in recent years. Now, when they finally looked to have settled their issues there, both Ciaran Joyce and Rob Downey get injured.
Most likely, it'll be Damien Cahalane at full-back, with Eoin Downey moving across to centre-back. Perhaps Micheál Mullins or Cormac O'Brien could slot in at No. 5.
Not ideal and I'm sure the Cork management would have preferred not to make these personnel changes but it'll be a major test of their panel and their defensive depth.
I thought Clare would have the cards in Ennis and turned out to be wrong about that - as wrong as those who claimed the Titanic was unsinkable.
This week, I do feel that Waterford could get something from this Saturday and get one step closer finally getting out of Munster in the round robin era.
So, it's a win for Cork, I hear the rest of you say.
Once again, only time will tell.
Watch Wexford v Dublin in the Leinster Hurling Championship on Saturday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Kerry v Cork in the Munster Football final (1.45pm) and Roscommon v Galway in the Connacht Football final (4.15pm) on Sunday from 1.15pm 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
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