With the league starting to heat up with the final two rounds left to play, we look at the runners and riders ahead of the Leinster and Munster championships. Four rounds of the league have been completed, although the winter weather has caused havoc with the fixtures. Regardless, here's your hurling power rankings for the 11 teams who are locked into the Liam MacCarthy this year.
NB - this was written before news of Shane O'Donnell's injury was circulated.
11. Antrim
The Davy bounce has not taken flight yet, with their only win of the league so far coming against fellow strugglers Westmeath. They have two crunch games this season, the first one against Laois in a relegation six-pointer against Laois to prevent relegation to division 2 and against Offaly to beat the drop back to the Joe McDonagh.
The Saffrons will petition performance coach Niall McManus to wear his boots again.
10. Offaly
The Faithful County is on top and unbeaten in 1B so far. They are in a position to return to division 1A, and this is without star man Adam Screeney.
The win over Dublin shows there won’t be any pushovers in Leinster, but I say Johnny Kelly will take survival in Leinster in their first year back in the big time. The balancing act of senior and under-20 will make or break both sides' campaigns.
READ ALSO: Watch: Monster Ravenhill Free Secures Mammoth Win For Offaly Over Dublin
9. Wexford
If Keith Rossiter had a crystal ball, he probably wouldn’t have beaten Waterford last year in the league to secure Division 1A hurling for 2025. Up until last weekend, the Yellowbellies had been having a torrid time in the top flight. With injuries and retirements, it has been a rough few weeks, as they have suffered thumpings in their opening league games.
All of that said, the return of talisman Lee Chin is a balm and the big win over Clare in Ennis on Sunday surprised most. A win against Galway at home in the last round is required if Wexford want to avoid relegation..
8. Waterford
The Déise might need to change geography if they want to continue playing hurling after the round-robin series, as their record in Munster makes for horror reading.
However, if Peter Queally can get the best out of the returning Austin Gleeson, they could finally break the Munster voodoo. They will have to make the most of home advantage as they welcome Clare and Limerick in their first two games.
Sunday's game against Dublin is essentially for promotion to 1A.
7. Dublin
Niall Ó Ceallacháin's Dublin suffered a disappointing defeat on Saturday evening to Offaly, making their game against Waterford a must-win if they want to play 1A hurling next year. However, some might say it’s a flaw of the Championship: they are more likely to advance in the top 3 in Leinster than their Munster counterparts, so hence, they are higher in these rankings.
6. Galway
Micheál Donoghue must have been thinking about doubting himself after Galway's opening-day mauling by Tipperary, but they have bounced back with strong displays against Kilkenny and Clare.
The addition of Anthony Burns to the forward line could be the extra bow in the attacking bow they need to win a Leinster title.
5. Tipperary
Tipp might be back, but Liam Cahill’s early league form has burned many punters. The real test will be the arrival of Limerick in Semple Stadium in eight weeks. They could be real championship contenders if their youngsters keep their early league form going.
They have a week off before a trip to old enemy Kilkenny to try and seal a place in the league final.
SEE ALSO: Tipp Star Speaks Candidly About Last Year's Disastrous Campaign After Big Win Over Cork
4. Cork
The All-Ireland finalists will hope they don’t have any hangover from last year's heartbreaking loss as they look to end their search for Liam McCarthy. What will Pat Ryan do this year is the real question: will he change anything from last year's team in terms of style of play or give tweaks to the starting 15?
Is this the first year Patrick Horgan hasn’t been a championship starter? The Glen Rovers man has been a sub in the league so far, with Darragh Fitzgibbon taking over the frees this year.
The Rebels need a simple national title, as they haven’t won it since 1998, but Saturday's loss in Thurles made that distant possibility.
3. Kilkenny
The Cats are transitioning as they look to settle down with a centre-back for the upcoming championship. Adrian Mullen, Eoin Murphy, and TJ Reid are all set to make their first outings of the year shortly, and there is intrigue over whether Kerry man Fionnán Mackessy can make it into the team.
They seem in pole position to make it six-in-a-row in Leinster. The real question to be answered is can they trouble the Munster boys
2. Clare
The All-Ireland champions' League campaign has been a disaster so far, with Brian Lohan’s side failing to win a game, with the loss against Wexford dooming them to relegation to 1B. Key players have been absent but the Wexford loss raised many eyebrows within Clare. A game against on Limerick on Sunday, however, will be a fascinating litmus test.
All the eggs are well and truly in the Championship basket as they look to win their first Munster title since 1998.
1. Limerick
The talk of five-in-a-row is over for John Kiely’s men, who are entirely focused on regaining their crown.
They showed they had the squad when their second team effectively beat Tipperary, but Nickie Quaid's loss could be detrimental to any hopes of winning back Liam.
