It seems that every year now upon the conclusion of the provincial hurling championships, there is no-little debate on structure, with many calling for more competitive games at this time of the year.
Whether you can squeeze more fixtures in in a condensed season now set in stone is open to debate. In Munster, Waterford again failed to find a way out, with supporters lamenting the fact that the county will again not see action in the month of June.
The flip side of that is the Déise did not win enough games and therefore don't deserve much sympathy.
Hurling purists, however, will want the likes of a Waterford to be involved for as long as possible, as they would for Kilkenny and Tipperary, who also made early exits this campaign.
And then there are the emerging counties. Kildare, after Joe McDonagh success in 2025, competed with the big boys in Leinster this year. The cold facts will show six losses from six, but the Lilies were more than competitive, making life difficult for both Galway and Kilkenny.
It's a return to the second-tier competition for Kildare, with either Carlow or Laois, this year's Joe McDonagh finalists, taking their place in Leinster for 2027.
Kildare will regroup and strive for more improvement going forward, and an expanded Leinster competition could aid their development, says RTÉ analyst Neil McManus. An option then for the powers-that-be.
"If they [GAA] want to genuinely focus on hurling development, you are probably looking at two pods or two groups of teams in the Leinster Championship," the former Antrim star said on Morning Ireland.
"If you value the competitiveness of the championship you keep it the way it is because there is no doubt about it Leinster has been phenomenal this year: competitive game after competitive game, upset after upset.
"It's what you value more. If it's hurling development, then it's two groups of four to help Kildare get those games that will make them competitive and be a force in the future - or if we are valuing the competitiveness of the championship then it stays the way it is."
In further assessing the conclusion of the provincial round-robin, it was no surprise that one outcome caught McManus's eye.
"If you told me at the start of the year that Kilkenny would not be in the three coming out of Leinster I would not have seen that coming," he remarked.
"Even with their below-par performances you would have still fancied them to be in the three. They were so dominant in Leinster and it's going to take a bit of a rebuild and some reflection. They've been here before and they've built back very successfully and that's what is going to be required again."
McManus was present at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Cork's emphatic victory over Clare, another statement performance from the Rebels, he felt.
"Clare had a couple of early goal chances which they absolutely had to take to make it a competitive game. Cork looked to be playing at their ease. No Darragh Fitzgibbon and Kieran Joyce is out for the rest of the season, but they look so good.
"The atmosphere at every one of their games is simply electric and there is a sense of belief that they are very, very close to a big prize."
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