The discussion centers on the latest hurling power rankings, with Cork taking the top spot after a convincing home win and two consecutive victories, including a win over Limerick. Limerick’s failure to win their last four championship games (including a penalty loss) justifies their drop. Tipperary’s performance is a major concern: despite salvaging a draw against Waterford after being 11 points up, their second-half collapse—losing control in midfield and failing to kill the game—suggests deeper issues. They face tough upcoming matches against Limerick and Clare, making qualification uncertain. Wexford’s heavy defeat to Kilkenny exposed a lack of fight, causing them to drop in rankings, while Dublin rises more due to Wexford’s failures than their own strong play. Waterford’s inconsistency is highlighted: a poor first half but a spirited comeback, with Stephen Bennett’s decision to attempt a quick free (rather than a simple point) drawing mixed reactions. Cork’s top ranking is tempered by Rob Downey’s ACL injury, a key defensive loss. Overall, the rankings reflect recent results and form, with several teams facing critical challenges ahead.
Football on Afterball. Yeah, I think we needed a big statement home win like that. And I think it was convincing to go. It's never got me in a well career. I've conceded after eight seconds. I can't believe we've seen it all in eight seconds. Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at austaball.com for its last join. The power rankings on Afterball with Harvey Norman, official stats sponsor of the G.A. You're very welcome along to the power rankings on Afterball with Harvey Norman, official stats partner of the G.A. It's hurling today. What a sport. When Waterford scored that goal, I just remember Jopel Braddickick to just say, "Good, what a game." No particular worries about who won or lost or anything like that. But what a sport. And we get to talk about it in the company of Corx Ratio G. And that's what you're called now until they lose the game, Ratio, okay? I don't know if I like that pressure, make. Well, the big pressure is what's going to happen on page two of the power rankings today because Will Cork, they've won the first two games, Brilliant. They've exercised the goals of the All-Earned Final. But can they reach top of the power rankings? That will be up to Will O'Calahan, the king of the hurling power rankings. Will, how you doing? Hello, my friend. I believe Ratio and I are in dispute over who should be top of the power rankings. But I think I'm allowed officially kind of pull rank and actually make the decision on who's top, can't I? Yeah, well, you're a power ranking. So you will ultimately decide, but we'll have no corkie erroring in this side of the thing. You know, talk about going against hype. This whole county at the moment, just this absolute version to hype and all. What the hell is going on there? Is that the last year, Ratio? We suffered enough last year. And we were just having a good time last year. We were just enjoying the winds, scoring goals, celebrating goals. People going to matches. Like you said, make just enjoying the hurling. And everyone came at us for being too cocky, too confident. Songfella got a tattoo, not representing the entire county. And all of a sudden, we all had our hand in that tattoo. And we all had our hand in the paddy power odds. And the country turned against us. Bush, we're making sure that this is going to happen this year. And I think we're all being very realistic. Playground to hype. Yeah. See how that goes now. And then the next two matches head into a monster final was seven points clear of all the other teams of monster. But there we go. Anyway, we are here every Wednesday for the hurling power rankings with Harvey Norman, every Tuesday. It's the football with Tommy Rooney. But let's get going, I think, will, because we've got a good bit to get. We're going to start, as we always do, a page two. And the unfamiliar size of Kilkeni, still on page two. Their absolute hammering of Wexford did not manage to get them up beyond number six in your rankings. They stay where they are. Waterford do not rise either, despite their spirit of combing back. Yeah, gallant draw, whatever way you want to call it. And then the first part against the very Dublin do rise up one though. Their hammering of Kil'ear probably more about Wexford's defeat to Kilkeni. We're dropped them down to nine, awfully intent, and Kil'ear on 11. Wexford results that's very much to me. I was out on Saturday night and I watched about the first 15, 20 minutes on my phone. And saw the score line. And it was just, it was so unexpected is what the kind of nearly sad thing about it is. It's sort of what you kind of feel will happen to Wexford. Like if Grande will, they'll probably have a day or two out over the course of the Lens or Championship. But this is more likely to happen than the big performances. Yeah, by the great. Meing the score line is, in this case, very reflective of the game. I think Kil'ear could have even put the hammer around a little bit more in the last 10-15 minutes. The match that they did, it was watching it and GA+ and it was just the openness of Wexford that would have been the most concerning thing if you were a Wexford supporter watching it, whereby Kil'ear looked bereft of ideas in the attack against Gow in Saltill. And I appreciate that they did up their level and Tija Reed was saying pretty much after the game when he was interviewed that they listened to everybody writing them off throughout the week. And he said everyone was entitled to do so with the way that they performed against Gow away and that they needed a response and to show some character. And they did. And some of their key forwards stood up in a way that they weren't able to do the week before. I thought Masi Kion was excellent. He got two, three from play during the game. Beautiful dummy for his goal. Tija himself again was impressive, but he had a supporting cast around him this week, which he didn't have the week before. So that's the reason you have summed it up beautifully. Well, if you can't even have not risen because I have to take Wexford's performance into context, there was a very lack of fight. And there was almost an acceptance once they went behind in the game that they weren't going to get back into it, which I think had to be disappointing because I'm sure there were some people in Wexford who would have felt, got a decent result against Kildare the first week. Can you look a little bit vulnerable coming out of the back of the Gow away performance. Wexford who got a good record of beating them three times in recent seasons, have generally got a good head to head when it comes to this fixture in the round robin era of the Lenscher championship. And yet they kind of didn't land a punch at the weekend. So I thought they were very, very disappointing. And I think for Wexford, if they don't up their standards, particularly against both Dublin and Afli in the upcoming games, they're not going to finish on the top three. And that explains exactly why we've moved Dublin up. I don't think it's based on Dublin's performance against Kildare. This is more based on the way that Wexford performed or didn't perform against Kylkene and Olamarck. Yeah, and Afli lived with Gow away for what 65 minutes, 62, 63 minutes of the game in uncertainty as much as Kylkene did. Anyway, so like there has to be something in the back of Wexford in mind to say that like that game is not a given either. Yeah, and a glass year, Afli gave Wexford an absolute price in Wexford Park and Wexford were probably looking off to get a few scores towards the end of the game to come out on top this time last season. They're going to go to tell more in a few weeks time and Afli would be looking at that fixture as a huge opportunity. I think there's no reason Afli couldn't be looking at getting to five points now and getting wins against Wexford and against Kildare. And who knows how good five points is going to look in the table at the end of it. I don't expect them to get a result against Kylkene after the break in two weeks time, but they should really be targeting their next home game against Wexford after that. As you mentioned, Afli couldn't have never really got closer in the second half than three or four points even after the goal went in from Ocean Kelly. The thing that probably killed Afli at the weekend was that at halftime there were three points down the goal away with goal away having played against a strong wind. It was almost a direct mirroring of what happened in their league game in Burr a couple of months ago as well. And then goal we were able to power home in the end. Again, Rory Burke is just in tremendous form and Connor Cooney off the bench to put in the second goal. So from goal, it's one of you. It won't be too concerned that this performance was reaching the heights of the Kylkene game. The most important thing for them was to get two wins from two. And already at this point, they look really well set for a lense for final. Any gripes? Is that twice in a row now that Gauay about to play against the reasons of it? In the first half? Yeah, you're right. It did the same. The Kylkene game. Obviously they know the wind in Fitzgerald's stadium better than anyone, Rachel. And if you listen to James Kaelor, some other ex-go away players, they say it's one of the worst venues to play in when you are playing against the wind. And the wind comes off the sea and you don't want to be playing against it. But obviously, you know, me all done a side of made the right decision and kicked home second half in bookends. I want to correct you by saying it's not called for sure stadium, but I can't put you think what it is called. It's clear stadium. There you go. What if I call it a serial stadium? I'm going to get my West Coast mix up and go. I'm just going to go. I'm going to go. Saltill, saltill, saltill. Yeah, that's a clear stadium. Will for God's sake. Right. Sorry. Any grapes. No, no, no, no, I think the bonds are content. We'll come in and pitch to fair enough. All right. Well, water for before we do leave it though, our winners this week, I suppose, if they didn't win the match, they won our Harvey Norman Saturday week. Will. Yeah, this is the Liam Kyle one, which is quite remarkable. I'll give Jordan Norris who had his match report in a few different places yesterday who brought this one open. It stood out for me when I was reading the game. So we got the full time. I said, right, I'm going to read through the reports and see what sense people are trying to make it that second half for water for 11 points down came back. Tips still found themselves a couple of points up in injury time when they went three up. You thought, OK, Tipperary turned this over and the narrative is going to be well, they've held on and they've got a win at Walsh Park and Tipper now in a decent position to qualify. And then Kevin Manning bangs in that goal with the ultimate drama at the end of the game. And Jordan Norris obviously went back through the record books to check the last time the Tipperary had won at Walsh Park in the championship. And I do appreciate that with the works there for a couple of seasons, he didn't know what was of games and home and away venues because of the nature of knocking in the ring. But let's just take the stuff for what it is. The last time the Tipperary won in championship away to Waterford was in June of 1996. And the top score for Tipperary that day was Liam Kyle, the current Tipperary manager and the former Waterford manager. So nice little bit of symmetry there. Absolutely. I think that like the Liam Kyle part of it is brilliant, right? Obviously, but take the 96 out of it because honestly Waterford played all their games basically up until the round Robbins away from Walsh Park, right? Then they had a couple of turt the turtless years during the reconstruction law. But at the same time Tipperary played them every second year away from home for the last wash. So that must be their turtime there. The fact that they haven't beaten them when Waterford have won so few games in the Monster Championship is kind of remarkable and I think is a worrying enough thing for Tipper. More worrying for Tipper as we go to page one and we'll see them are page two, whatever it is like on top five. We'll see them still in fifth place. They don't drop below Corkenny despite their performance but there was no chance of getting ahead of Claire Galway. [BLANK_AUDIO]
this week. Tip were coasting. Like it was one of those games where you almost annoyed with Waterford for like putting in such a good performance in NS and then not showing up the following week and that's kind of been the story of them for a while. And it was 11 points at half time. Could have been a lot more once Tip got that goal in the first half. You felt the match was over. And there's a good discussion in how Waterford did it and fair play to them, but Tip did not hurt them all in the second half. They could not win a ball for about a 20 minute period in the middle of the half. This is not the form of all Ireland champions. If you look at that game yesterday, I would say, right, you probably had two players, you would say, they probably played up to what you would expect. Everybody else played grand or badly. Like I'd be very, very not just a results because they have a lot to do now and they've got Limerick and Claire in the last two matches and probably need some of the both games. So that's concerning. But even just how are you going to turn around for armways? Yeah. And I think that I have so many chances behind them, which is concerning enough itself. I would agree with your point. No, not totally, but I would agree with your point, though, that they basically got taken over around the middle of the field in the second half of that game. And that would be really concerning from Tipberry's perspective when they were so on top in the first half. And I just think, yeah, like I mean, Nolan had a wonderful game in goal for Waterford. He made some incredible saves, not just the penalty, but the really good save on the ground with his foot from John McGraw as well, where if Tipberry put the ball on the net there maybe then the lead stretches out enough for them to be comfortable. But you never really felt in that second half, particularly when Waterford has started as strongly as they did after the break, the Tipberry looked comfortable. And then they became remarkably uncomfortable, rallied a little bit. And even when there were three points up, you would have thought, okay, surely all Ireland champions will be able to defend the inevitable long ball that's about to be putt in. Again, it was a really good ball in around the square. The chance has taken and now we're talking about a waterford draw as opposed to Tipberry holding on and being able to stop. I think the leaks and the dam was the way Liam Kyle put it after the game. To reality is, the Tipberry didn't do that. And Tipberry didn't exercise the control that we expected. Didn't see that against Corquita. I'm with you. I mean, obviously they've got a bit of work now on their break week to do, but they've got a difficult last couple of fixtures coming around because, you know, Limerick are desperately going to need a result against them. And as you say, Claire could be in a really strong position, depending on what happens in the game this weekend in Ennis, but it's an uphill task, I think, for Tipberry to qualify at this stage. And maybe last week, I was too quick to write off Patrick Hargan being right and saying the Tipberry were going to be all Ireland champions and knocked out a bit like Claire the year before in the group stages. At the moment, I think there are odds against the qualify. Yeah, I don't think so. I think they're still creating those chances. And when you're when you're caught still like that away from home, there are a lot of waterford are always going to come back, especially like that, you know, and I think we saw towards the very end, they didn't completely lose control of the game. You know, one waterford came back and went to head. It's not like, Tip completely buckled like, I know the goal was poor to give away, but they still they they took control of the last like five minutes of the game. And it's it's a change in one minute then. And you're saying, we got away with that. We learned from it. I think Tip have performed very poorly twice now. And they've only just barely been beaten and they've drawn. So it's not like they're completely after Mac. Well, I love to get your thoughts on them. As he listens, quick free. It's from it's from a neutral point of view. It's easy to say this. It was it's so exciting to see someone like him in the pitch because he'd do something like that. I know obviously if it's your own team, you're going crazy, but if he pulls that quick free off and they get a goal, waterford win that game. I think, you know, they I think I think right. I think, Rachel, you got Stephen Benny. You go on the best free takers in the country who's in remarkable form. He's like probably even in all sort of contention after two games that waterford have a moment the way that he's been performing individually in these two matches. He's strolling over to take that free. And as he leases the sides to flick it forward in at best, a 50/50 chance of something coming off the back of it. I just think what the game is that tight where they're two down. I think when that ball was about to be placed. So you're just thinking, yeah, you stick the ball over the bar. You're trying win the polko and you get back level. I always think it's like trust your instincts on that one. Like when they won that free, you end right, won down. And you're kind of thinking, right, 30 seconds has got to pass, but they're a point down now. Let's see what happens with the next polko. I really hit it. Everybody in the country just, oh, what are you doing? But I know what you mean. There's a bit of magic. We'll talk about another kind of decision in a minute that was made that was a bit surprising that that did pay off for a team. But yeah, tip I Rachel makes a fair point that they've won point from two terrible performances and Kork who are runaway favorites for the all-erlin then are basically all-but-all-but-all-erlin champions already as we all discussed already did barely beat them as well in the end only by four points. So yeah, tip I suppose they'll have data hang on to but I just would be concerned about how they're playing. They got control of the game. The other thing is their number seven there, non-move position in the power rankings. I don't think anybody knows what to make a waterford because in the first half, I'm on Claire text message saying, where's she is? How the hell did we barely concede? 3-11 to Steven Bennett and a goal every time waterford went up the end. And then you saw on the second half what they can do and how dangerous they can be and how they can get a goal out and over and then you feel better as a clarifying after watching the second half as you head into next week. So we don't know what to make a waterford and I suppose that will be revealed. But will the only person that has to worry about that about seeing the future when he does his rankings? So let's see page two again because we ignored the headline. There is a change. Limerick have been shunted off the top of the rankings. They have been replaced by cork. Easy enough decision will. I genuinely think this is by the way. So Limerick have no lost four games in a row in championship and I'm not having it that they drew in last time penalties. The rallies have no lost four games in a row in the championship. They showed during the league. How good a team they still are but they lost in penalties. All right. How is it about this? They failed to win their last four championship games. Do you want to accept that? Okay. You can't but punish them for this. So they come up against who we ranked as the second best team. The two teams who are the best form coming out the league and cork of one ahead to head encounter and have again taken down Limerick in the championship. As a result cork have to go to the top. Now I appreciate what's going to be argued against now at the moment is the bad news that came through on Monday and I do appreciate this is really bad for cork. The care and joy said just become the player who is about to cover number three. He looked quite comfortable in those two games. It's not the car landed badly when he came out of the weekend but the reality is he was being assigned a key position on that team. He picks up an ACL injury is out for the rest of season which is a real pity because he was fitting in there very nicely indeed and I thought that Rob Downey was one of cork's best performers in the first two games. I thought again he was excellent at the weekend against Limerick both in terms of anchoring the defense the way that he comes out with the ball and some of those kind of rampaging runs that he makes up the field as well for him to be out for two months with an ankle injury as well or we're thinking maybe six weeks was the report coming out of the cork curling camp. The reality is the cork are going to go into some key games potentially into a provincial final without their fullback and without their center back. This is going to be a big test of the strength and depth that they have in their defense. The only real question mark we've probably had about cork coming into this season were the way that maybe they defend in the full backline and whether they've got enough cover across the defense if one or two players are out. Well the worst thing that could possibly happen is that they lose their two key defenders this early on in the season and particularly we know the choice isn't going to be coming back in. So does that mean that all down you now has to go to three when the half backline was operating really well the last two games. This is a that's a big shift but based on the performance at the weekend and based on what cork have done so far I don't again even can argue against me hype, no hype, whatever else putting them ahead of Limerick at the top of the table. You all right with that Rachel? Yeah just after to be fair to will he made this he made those shows before all the injury news came in and then when I saw that this morning first of all just got it for Kieran Joyce like that's awful you know season ending he played so well last week just you know on a personal basis so disappointed for him and but to lose him and Rob Downey just wouldn't fill it with hope obviously it was it was an unbelievable game to weekend but in the same vein as temporary Limerick were really poor and they only just about missed out like I'd still be very very cautious of them like they they had some especially Marcy had almost two identical really poor wides in a row there in the second half when they could have pulled away and it was an incredible win but like when Carc get that second goal Patrick Collins is about one millimeter away from being hooked by Peter Casey and the ball is in the net at the other end and Limerick just didn't seem to perform that well at all like the first 15 minutes was Limerick at their best and they were so much better than Carc. I think you're not given Carc enough credit there being honest I think Limerick did have a poor second half I would say and then obviously as soon as the red card happens that's compounded it's Carc's game to control from there and then I thought I thought it was a really high quality first half I Carc had to kind of catch up with Limerick as they did in the league fine they did it a much quicker this time they adapted better and I thought played very well to kind of go in you know I don't know what we're to down one down but it was like they were they were in it's like you know very very in it but I thought Limerick were brilliant in the first half and it felt like all Limerick and you know you had Hayes and Burns dominating you had
You had like the forwards all chipping in a huge work rate from the forwards. I thought it was impressive and it's something to kind of watch out for if you're looking for signs as to whether Limerick are there or not this year. I thought the forwards, as you mentioned Peter Casey, nearly Huck and Collins at that time. But I would have to say there's a frailty in that full backline. I don't know who it is, Will, or like if it's an individual thing or a set up thing or something like that, but you're looking at that thinking they can be God-ass and that's not what you would associate historically with Limerick. And then they did fade out of the game and you have to ask questions as to why that is as well. Even outside of the red card cork were on top of that stage and you kind of felt like Limerick had to turn it on again at the very least and it never happened. So I think there's a lot of question marks and if you look at Limerick then heading into next week, we're talking about Joyce and Downey been out. No galan, no keen linch. It's an interest in one. I think Darrow Dunovan will make it, I think actually could be a positive impact for Limerick next week in that I think what Claire don't want is quick ball in constantly. Claire would be happy enough with them running around in midfield and taking part shots. They don't want quick ball in and that's all that I don't want to do. So and Peter Casey paid well, but what's coming after that? You need 20 lads rather than 15 as well. I just have so many questions about Limerick. I think you're nailed on number two. I think your rankings this week strangely aren't that complicated or controversial, but it's what happens next I think is just so intriguing. Yeah, so they're going to play against Claire without two herder of the year quality players. That is just the usual former herder of the year. Yeah, like we saw the weekend. It's not that Limerick didn't perform well in their forward line without galan, but they didn't have that what I would call the galan style option into the forward line. And again, like Brian did quite well. I thought Caroline got a better handle on him after a while after he came on, but when he got space, he looked really, really dangerous. I'll Peter Casey scored some wonderful points, picking that one. He scored over on the sand side from the touch line was an incredible score. So again, he just reminded you of what he does when he comes in for a galan in this case. But I'd agree with you defensively, particularly when Carl got the ball over the green wall as they call it of that half back line, which they did quite cleverly with some of the diagonal balls that they were playing into the corners. And you've got some like a's who's got that physical presence as well. Claire are really good at retaining ball when it's put into their forward line. We've spoken about how you know, lethal their forwards can be. And if it's like if Dougan, Shannon, Donald, some of these guys who are brilliant at catching their own ball and making space for themselves, they can definitely cause problems for this Limerick defense in a similar way to courted at the weekend, just come by. And then it's just a case of will Limerick have enough at the other end? I mean, I saw John Kylie saying it was a tremendous performance and I can appreciate how they dug in, particularly if you're going to be playing 20 plus minutes a man down and being without your captain and Bernathe Gauy who was pulling the strings really in the first half for Limerick and Key and Lynch. It's a totally different challenge when you see them going to Claire now where Claire have got a chance not just to put themselves into the top three guaranteed and pretty much on the cost of a monster final, but also they can put a huge nail into Limerick's potential coffin if they were to win that game because it will put huge pressure on Limerick going into the last two fixtures. I'm not sure because I've only heard obviously there on Golan picked up that injury and training and the timeline seemed to be two to three weeks. I don't know if Golan is back for the last two matches. We've certainly got to miss Mckendi Cubby. So that would be a boost and obviously then you're talking with Key and Lynch coming back in, but as much as Anthony Daly's tried to play it off in the live coverage yesterday, he said to Joanne, "Oh, maybe this puts a weird pressure on Claire now, the fact that Limerick nor would out two of the rest players." No, no, no. Limerick or without two of the rest players and that puts a pressure on them being without two key members of her team. Sure. Claire can have 12 injuries and we want none to the team is named and turns the night anyway. That's the way things are. Nobody knows anything down there. That's the problem at the moment. But a nail in their potential coffin indeed. Will, I enjoyed that phrase. A potential coffin, yes. Before we go, Hawkeye moment of the week, Rachel, you've been looking at this one. This is the close call that got the country talking. It's probably the reason that despite having 14 men and despite probably being out in the game that Limerick worried at until the very end, it was you're going for Dimmer Burns choice to go for goal. Yeah, from the free and the free actually interestingly enough, I'm sure was brought up for descent. That's something that Carcill have to look at. We saw Liam Caldwell being pulled up for it last weekend. It's probably still just absolute reflex to give the bit of shit. I was in bite the tongue and it was even obvious. I was in the Black Rock Terrace. Looking at it from this point of view, you could nearly see Kylie from all the way up there saying, "Over the bear, over the bear, partner behind him, saying over the bear as well." And almost the antithesis to what happened in Waterford, he goes for goal. They get the goal with everyone's thinking, "Surely, he's just going to tap this over the bear." There's only two points in it. There's definitely going to be a lot of injury time, but Dimmer Burns goes for goal and myself and Will were chatting beforehand. I know they spoke about it last night as well as to whether Dimmer Burns took it upon himself just to go for goal. And Kylie was telling him to put it over the bear or that's a pre-plan move in the Limerick camp and when they see something that obvious that he knows, he should be going for goal. It was rubbed down these injuries as well. So there was a big gap between, there was a big gap and it was a kind of a worrying injury as well at the time. Thankfully, it's not too bad, but big gap and Burns came up kind of halfway through it, I think, or maybe even after it. So I think the decision was made slowly. And I like it because it shows as well, like in retrospect, you realize Limerick never scored again. I think they knew they needed to get something out of it. Do you know what I mean? And to have any chance to hold none in the end. So an interest in one ultimately mishits us, which is the reason he scores us. Yeah, it was bad from Clark Naltobluckis and maybe that was, I don't know where you can put it down to the fact they expected. Like I totally expected blasting operations when I saw Dimmer Burns strolling up to hit the free. Because I kind of thought if he's coming up this type of close range, he's the guy who's going to be your. He didn't take it to later. No, I don't. Yeah, no. What's the name was. Well, Conor was sound around the show. Eventually he ends up going to hit it. But the minute I see Burns addressing the ball, I'd be assuming you're going low. You wouldn't be bringing them forward. You'd use them for the longer range freeze, but I wouldn't have thought you'd bring them forward to hit that if not. It's a bit like when a goalkeeper comes running out for a close range free, you know it's going to be shot at goal as opposed to being shot over the bar, but yeah, I mean, Cochra did defend it better. It is interesting though if it was mind games in place and you've conurken Kylie in the theatrical way they did it. Which I'm sure again, in the noise of Park Equiv yesterday, maybe they felt they had to be over the top to go, "Damn it, no, no, put it over and we'll win the book out." But yeah, it was a bluff and a double bluff. But ultimately, maybe the key is you can almost strike a ball too well and we get saved in this case, he scoffes us and ends up going into the net. All right. The power anchors on the off the ball would have a normal official stats sponsor of the GAA. Our core is going to move off the top of the power anchors between now and the end of July. Rachel. Oh, Mick. I'm not saying anything. No, no, I'm going to do well by my county there. I'm going to need this high triangle. Will, what do you reckon, they're staying on top, are they? They're on top for now and at the moment. For now, yeah, we'll look, I mean, unfortunately, we haven't had any drinks. Which is the rankings every week. I just had your prediction. Oh yeah. Don't tune in next week, Mick, because we might not change the rankings. Carc is going to be there to the end of the summer. I look at the moment. There's what? At least three all Ireland contenders right now. I got sick in recent years of when we got to a point where I went. Stray. Limerick are incredibly impressive. At least three. So, core, Limerick. Claire. She have got away ahead of Claire. Gallev. Well, see again, that's the power rank. It's the moment what call we have done, which is, which is one of my county stories of the week. Oh, quickly. If you have time for it yet. I know. I picked this up from Christy O'Connor, but James Gallard mentioned it last night too. Quite impressive from Gallev. So, 2018, they beat Cliketti in all grades under 20 minor and senior. They beat Cliketti in the last week in all three grades, because they beat them in minor on Saturday afternoon as well. So this would indicate, and James Gallard knows quite a few of the younger players and go having coached them for the last two years with the 20s and was involved with the minors before. Here, I can see another really good group of players coming through. I'm not sure if it's quite going to be Neary, Burke, Aaron, Ireland type of quality, with evolved slotted strength into the senior team, but by all reports, their 20s are really good in the week to scumball as well. So I think, Gallev, the team to watch out for, and maybe it's an indication as well of the power shift in Lentster that they're now beaten to Kenny at all the grades. Yeah, when you think of how young this Gallev way team is, if there's a big old bunch of underage teams coming through as well, that does spell success for the future. Maybe look out on top of the power rank in some day. That could be the ultimate name, I suppose. Anyway, Will Rachel, thanks very much. We'll chat next week. See you then. Thanks, Greg. [MUSIC]
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
Cork’s convincing home win and strong start (two wins) have propelled them to the top of the hurling power rankings, displacing Limerick.
Tipperary’s poor performance against Waterford (blowing an 11-point lead to a draw) raises concerns about their form and qualification chances, despite a point gained.
Wexford’s heavy defeat to Kilkenny and lack of fight dropped them in rankings, while Dublin rose based on Wexford’s failings rather than their own performance.
Waterford’s inconsistency remains puzzling
Cork faces a setback with Rob Downey’s ACL injury, which could impact their defense despite their current top ranking.
Summary:
The discussion centers on the latest hurling power rankings, with Cork taking the top spot after a convincing home win and two consecutive victories, including a win over Limerick. Limerick’s failure to win their last four championship games (including a penalty loss) justifies their drop. Tipperary’s performance is a major concern: despite salvaging a draw against Waterford after being 11 points up, their second-half collapse—losing control in midfield and failing to kill the game—suggests deeper issues.
They face tough upcoming matches against Limerick and Clare, making qualification uncertain. Wexford’s heavy defeat to Kilkenny exposed a lack of fight, causing them to drop in rankings, while Dublin rises more due to Wexford’s failures than their own strong play. Waterford’s inconsistency is highlighted: a poor first half but a spirited comeback, with Stephen Bennett’s decision to attempt a quick free (rather than a simple point) drawing mixed reactions.
Cork’s top ranking is tempered by Rob Downey’s ACL injury, a key defensive loss. Overall, the rankings reflect recent results and form, with several teams facing critical challenges ahead.
FAQs
Cork moved to the top of the power rankings after beating Limerick, despite losing key player Ciaran Joyce to an ACL injury.
Kilkenny stayed at number six because the win was considered expected, and Wexford's poor performance was factored in.
Tipperary led by 11 points at halftime but let Waterford come back for a draw, marking their first championship win at Walsh Park since 1996, managed by Liam Cahill.
Dublin rose one spot because Wexford's poor performance against Kilkenny made Dublin's win over Kildare look stronger by comparison.
Tipperary struggled to control the game in the second half, losing midfield battles, and now face tough fixtures against Limerick and Clare, risking qualification.
Limerick have failed to win their last four championship games, including a loss to Cork, so Cork replaced them at number one.
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