For me, Limerick are rediscovering their best form at the perfect time. Great teams have that knack of peaking at the right time and Limerick are doing just that as they ramp up their four-in-a-row tilt.
As proven in the Munster final, when they were pushed all the way by Clare, this group of Limerick players have continually found the answers to the questions posed by the chasing pack.
On Saturday, the holders face a Galway side who will feel they have unfinished business after last year’s loss to Limerick at this stage.
However, Galway boss Henry Shefflin will have been pleased with how his side performed the last day out against Tipperary in the quarter-finals.
A late Jason Forde goal set up a grandstand finish but the Galway rearguard would not be breached again, holding out for a two-point win and a crack at revenge against Limerick.
I noted the substitution of Gearoid McInerney after he lost possession in the build-up to the Tipp goal, so I won’t be surprised if his replacement Fintan Burke lines out for the Tribesmen from the start.
In the Tipperary game, Galway got huge success from deploying Cathal Mannion in a deep-lying midfield role in order to provide quality supply to the inside forward line. If Shefflin opts for that again, it will be interesting to see if Limerick assign a man-marker to him in an effort to curb his influence.
Limerick are not without their injury worries ahead of the weekend. Defender Sean Finn’s year is over while team captain Declan Hannon appears to be in a race against time to be fit for Saturday.
Hannon is an integral part of this Limerick juggernaut and, if unavailable, his presence would be missed in terms of on-field leadership alongside anchoring the Limerick defence.
But the Limerick panel have proven themselves time and time again when tested and I’d expect manager John Kiely and coach Paul Kinnerk to come up with a solution on the sideline again.