Liam Sheedy: With hurling now played by chameleons and shape-shifters, it's adapt or die

Everyone wants the game played on their terms, to impose their system and style. Reacting to what develops in front of you is crucial.

The heat of the battle: Diarmaid Byrnes of Limerick prepares to clear in the last minutes of normal time during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Final match between Limerick and Clare at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

It’s just another beauty of our great game, that you can’t pin teams down anymore. 

Remember Clare withdrawing en masse behind the 45 earlier in the year, and how everyone talked of it being the way to deny Limerick room to work through the lines. Then watch Lohan’s men last Sunday, on their biggest day, pushing up man for man on the best team in the country. And it worked for the guts of the match. Until Limerick adapted again.