A look at one of the key areas where Limerick and hurt Tipperary heading into Saturday evening’s National Hurling League semi-final.
Limerick are heavy favourites going into this weekend’s league semi-final clash with Tipperary.
They may have been beaten by Cork at the start of the NHL campaign, but that was a day when they took off many of their frontline stars.
After winning four All-Ireland titles in five years, John Kiely and his management team again look to be the pace-setters heading into the hurling championship.
Though Tipperary have been largely unimpressive since last winning the All-Ireland in 2019, Liam Cahill seems to have reinvigorated them.
Jake Morris (5), Conor Bowe (3) and Jason Forde (2) have blasted ten of the team’s 14 league goals between them, compared with the Treaty’s four overall.
Nenagh Guardian Head of Sport, Shane Brophy, believes this will be a serious step-up in class for the Premier’s attacking unit.
“They’re going to come up against the ultimate test this weekend,” Brophy said on Tippcast.
“Limerick get numbers back: Tom Morrissey and Gearoid Hegarty spend as much time in the half-back line as they do in the half-forward line.
“Tipp need to play quick but they need to be precise.
“They can’t go back to the start of the second half against Waterford where the ball went in direct but it was coming out twice as quick.
“Tadhg de Burca nearly had the hand wore off him coming out with the ball, so they have to be more precise with how they send the ball in.
“I don’t think Tipp will be as naive as Galway were against Limerick when they allowed Barry Nash to be the free man.
“Barry Nash is so important on the short puckouts, he was originally a half-forward, he’s a ball-player out of corner-back, so I don’t think Tipp will allow him to be free.
“I think Tipp will push right up as much as they can — they’ll allow Seamus Kennedy and Alan Tynan to drop back, but maybe just have four scoring forwards on the field.
“But they have to make sure that Barry Nash can’t beat them.”
Top Scorers in 2023 NHL
Limerick
T Morrissey……..0-22 (0-8 frees)
M Houlihan………0-17 (0-12 frees)
D O Dalaigh……..1-9
K Hayes……………1-6
A Gillane………….1-6 (0-5 frees)
Tipperary
J Forde…………….2-31 (0-16 frees, 0-2 ‘65s’, 0-1, s/l)
G O’Connor……..0-33 (0-18 frees, 0-2 ‘65s’)
J Morris…………..5-5
C Bowe…………….3-3
J McGrath……….0-9 (1 free)
