Anthony Daly: Fine-tuning and future-proofing the name of the game for most

"Liam Cahill's Waterford look to have the strongest panel in the country now, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the best team. But it’s certainly a huge asset with the round robin looming and all the pitfalls associated with that format."

On my way out of Parnell Park after the Dublin-Kilkenny game two weeks ago, I had my baseball hat pulled down over my eyes while my mask was further concealing my face, but a couple of Dublin fellas still recognised me heading down the Malahide Road. ‘Same old storeee, Anto,’ one of them said to me.

As a former Dublin manager, I know all about those no-shows because I was involved in so many of them. We tried so hard to eradicate those kinks from the system, but that kind of laissez-faire attitude that has been hardwired into the Dublin hurling mindset for so long just short-circuited again when Kilkenny applied the pressure.

I’m not sure what Dublin’s attitude towards the game was beforehand but, if it was off, I don’t understand why, especially given Dublin’s modern history with Kilkenny. Furthermore, it was a chance for Dublin to prove they can handle the favourites' tag against their nemesis. Instead, they then went out and showed that they can’t.

It’s frustrating for Dublin because instead of being in control of this group, they’re now relying on Waterford to do them a favour to reach the semi-finals. And we all know at this stage of the league that relying on favours is about as reliable as picking long-shot winners in Cheltenham.

Waterford are certainly capable of beating Kilkenny, but, knowing Liam Cahill, he’ll probably still experiment. On the other hand, what does experimentation really look like now for Cahill? Most of his big names were on the bench two weeks ago against Tipperary and they still won by ten points. Some of those biggest names, like Jamie Barron, Dessie Hutchinson and Calum Lyons haven’t featured yet in the league so Liam might see this as the ideal game to get them involved, especially if Lyons and Barron’s injury worries have cleared up.

After lighting up the club championship like a Christmas tree, Dessie must be buzzing to get back now, especially with the pitches getting harder and the ball hopping just like Dessie wants it.

Waterford look to have the strongest panel in the country now, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the best team. But it’s certainly a huge asset with the round robin looming and all the pitfalls associated with that format.

If the Dublin crowd were really subdued two weeks ago, the Kilkenny supporters were on a high. We saw so much of the old traits of savagery and ferocious intent, but we also saw how the new breed are stepping up, and how they have been conditioned into that way of thinking and performing.

David Blanchfield was in running for man-of-the-match, Cian Kenny got through some great work at midfield while Mikey Bugler was solid in the full-back line. The balance looked really impressive when you had Alan Murphy building on some of the good form shown last year, along with Mossy Keoghan and John Donnelly proving that the middle-tier of players in their early 20s are developing with each passing season.

With Walter Walsh taking control of the match after a slow start, Paddy Deegan and Huw Lawlor excellent down the spine of their defence and Cillian Buckley showing well in a new role, Kilkenny definitely impressed me. Throw in TJ Reid, Adrian Mullen and Eoin Cody and you’d have to say that Kilkenny are looking like a real threat again.

Brian Cody always wants to win the league so he’ll be going all out to win tomorrow. He’d also love to have a semi-final to fully reintegrate the Ballyhale fellas, as well as giving more big-game exposure to the new faces.

Waterford are unbeaten and Cahill would like nothing better than scalping Kilkenny in their own backyard. This has the making of a humdinger and I fancy Waterford.

If Waterford take care of business, the Dubs should be getting their job done in Portlaoise. If the Dubs still have an axe to grind with any crowd it should be with Laois after that 2019 All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final defeat, especially when it undid all the good work Dublin did that summer.

Laois put all their efforts into beating Antrim two weeks ago to effectively ensure their survival in Division 1, but they still won’t want to go back to the dog days they experienced earlier in this campaign. They should be competitive but you couldn’t see anything but a Dublin win.

There’s nothing at stake in Pearse Stadium tomorrow but it’s still an intriguing game. The only drawback for Clare was the news that broke during the week that Diarmuid Ryan may be out for up to eight weeks with a back injury.

That’s another desperate body blow for Brian Lohan, who has been hammered with injuries throughout this campaign, especially to his young guns. Aidan McCarthy is still rehabbing a broken ankle while Mark Rodgers is out for another month with a knee ligament issue. Those lads were maturing nicely but they need all the game time that’s going for them to become more comfortable in their skin within the team.

At least Peter Duggan is back with a bang; he scored 3-10 in a club league game against Cratloe last weekend. I’d expect to see Cian Galvin, another young gun, to feature too. When Clarecastle asked Lohan if Cian could play a league game last Saturday, the manager said we could use him for half the match, which was a solid indication that he might start.

Both Clare and Galway have eyes only for the championship at this stage and in getting as many bodies back fit and ready for a campaign just over the horizon. Home advantage might be enough for a Galway victory.

You’d expect wins elsewhere for Limerick and Tipperary, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Antrim put the heart across Tipp, like they did to Waterford and, to a lesser extent, Dublin. Antrim need a win, Tipp don’t, but Colm Bonnar will fully appreciate the gravity of losing another game in Thurles in a match the home supporters will be demanding a win.

We’re at the stage of the season now where the league is, I won’t say irrelevant, but it’s certainly losing its value and importance with the championship coming so soon. Certain teams will crave a league title but the semi-final nearly looks a more appealing match than the final because you can go all out in that game, whereas managers might not want to risk some players two weeks out from their first championship match.

That state of play, and state of mind, this weekend also reinforces the value of just having the top team in each group qualifying for the league final. If that was the case, can you imagine the buzz in Wexford Park tomorrow? Instead, it’s just a dead rubber, whereas removing the league semi-finals would also free up that one extra weekend which would leave a three-week lead-in to the first round of the championship.

Antrim and Offaly are already preparing for the Joe MacDonagh Cup but they’re also already mentally prepping for a massive game to come – and that’s said with all due respect to Antrim – in an upcoming relegation final.

In many ways, that’s nearly the most important match this spring. The elation and happiness on show for the victors in that game will far outweigh the outpouring of happiness for whichever teams wins the league final.