The Clare under-21s took a battering at the hands of Limerick at Cusack Park on Monday night. 14 points were between the two sides at the final whistle - the same number of players with which Clare finished the game.
Though they led just two at half-time, Limerick had dominated the game and deserved to be more in front. Conor O'Halloran's red card just after the break widened the gap in quality.
Speaking on Monday, as Sky Sports announced the games it will broadcast for the 2018 championships, Jamesie O'Connor said the result didn't shock anyone in Clare.
"The talent probably isn't there and Limerick at the same time are stacked at that level," said the two-time All-Ireland winner.
"Listen, it's disappointing but it is what it is. I think to hurling people in Clare, it wasn't a huge surprise. We probably just don't have the raw material to work with. It's up us to get our house in order."
Last year's side reached the Munster final. Though, they did suffer a heavy defeat to Cork. O'Connor believes Donal Moloney and Gerry O'Connor will have their eyes on players from that team. He also thinks this year's minor side, one which has a number of talented players, will be competitive.
Still, O'Connor knows the more fatalistic Clare supporters will find reasons to worry.
"If you were to be pessimistic, you could make the point that, 'Is the next wave coming behind Tony Kelly and those boys?' I'm not so sure that it is.
"There are some good young players, Diarmuid Ryan - Conor's brother - he's going to be a really good player. There's a guy, Breffni Horner, that I've seen come through Flannan's, he's been bedevilled by injuries but he's a real prospect for the future.
"It was always the way in Clare that we wouldn't have the same resources that they'd have in Cork or Tipp and we'd have to make better use of them.
"Certainly, we don't seem to have a golden generation coming that we did in the 2000s and back. For the powers that be in the county, that's probably a concern."
Photo by Sportsfile
