There's an opportunity dangling front of Ballygunner, they have to grab it

Several of the big hitters have fallen in their county championships. Ballygunner will have few better chances to win their second All-Ireland senior club hurling title. 

CHANCE AT GREATNESS: Patrick Fitzgerald of Ballygunner celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Waterford SHC final against Abbeyside Ballinacourty. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

It seems frightfully early in the provincial and All-Ireland club series to be making grand declarations. We’re leaving ourselves terribly exposed to later correction. Our hand, though, has been forced by recent results, particularly those of last weekend.

We say the following with no disrespect to Doon, Loughmore-Castleiney, and whoever else is on a collision course with the Waterford champions in the coming weeks, but for Ballygunner and the quest of Darragh O’Sullivan’s group to add a second Tommy Moore Cup to their portfolio, there’s an undeniable sense of if not now, then when.