Heading into the final week of the Leinster Hurling Championship round robin, there is still something on the line for every team in the competition.
Kilkenny know that they will be playing in the All-Ireland series, but they are still not assured of a place in the provincial final despite sitting top of the group.
Two of Galway, Wexford, and Dublin will also advance from the group, although it remains to be seen which one of them will be eliminated from the championship. At the other end of the table, Antrim and Carlow will play this weekend to decide who will be relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup.
In all, it should make for an incredible weekend of hurling.
READ HERE: Hurling Power Rankings Ahead Of D-Day In The Provincial Round Robins
Henry Shefflin calls out comments about Leinster Hurling Championship
There is no doubt that the Leinster Hurling Championship is viewed by many as the ugly step-sister in the small ball game, with the Munster equivalent grabbing most of the headlines during the early stages of the championship.
However, this year's edition has been a reminder as to how competitive the competition can be.
Speaking to Galway Bay FM, Galway manager Henry Shefflin called out the coverage around the Leinster Championship and the assumption that his team and Kilkenny would stroll through the round robin.
For any of the teams involved, we probably knew it was going to come like that. I think there was a lot of media attention at the beginning of the campaign where they were just talking about Munster.
People were saying, 'Ah Leinster is going to be a foregone conclusion with two teams getting to a Leinster final' and I thought it was very disrespectful. I'm delighted to say that it has shown the strong nature of the Leinster championship.
It's made for a very interesting campaign, a very challenging one for some of us, but it has been a very exciting campaign and it's going to finish with three very important games this Sunday.
Galway head into this weekend's game against Dublin needing to win to be certain of their place in the All-Ireland series, with something to play for in all three fixtures in the competition.
It should make for an exciting day of hurling.
SEE ALSO: Report - New GAA Committee Eyeing Three Gaelic Football Rule Changes
