Clare:

Clare must be wondering which Clare will turn up. The Clare that beat Waterford and did so well against Wexford or the Clare that let Cork slip past them. Clare have some lovely young hurlers, who have the Clare steel. But I sometimes look at them and wonder are they over fit and too focussed on taking points? They seem to be able to raise their game in the 2^nd halves of games and many would see this as a plus. But games are won and lost in the first half. There’s no point in being able to reel in a team in the 2^nd half if you have let them get too far ahead.

Pluses: Good young hurlers and Davy Fitzgerald. Like him or hate him, Davy can manage a team and get results.

Minuses: Davy Fitzgerald. Sometimes a team just needs to hurl. Let them off to run riot and make mistakes. Davy seems to confine a team and restrict them to tactical hurling.

Prospects: I’m taking them to beat Galway, and lose to Dublin in the semi-final.

Cork:

Cork are a team that must be delighted to be still hurling at this stage of the summer. They had a terrible league campaign, and Clare let them off the hook in the semi-final of the Munster championship. My take here is that Cork haven’t improved that much from their league showing and are a few players short still. Their half-back line is workmanlike and their half-forward line is average. But Cork being Cork, they will fancy their chances! Cork see no equal and this gives them a chance.

Pluses: They do possess some good hurlers, and they have the Cork swagger which gives them a chance. When you see no fear, you are freer to hurl.

Minuses: Their half-forward line just isn’t potent enough. And midfield tends to go missing. And they’re playing Kilkenny.

Prospects: I’m taking them to Kilkenny to beat them.

Dublin:

Could the double really be on? Yes it could and Anthony Daly must take a huge amount of credit for this. He has slowly built up a head of steam throughout the year. Steady progress all the way. Throw in some excellent hurlers who believe in Daly 100%, and you can see why they’re sitting pretty in the semi-final. Dublin are solid all over the field, and the forwards are now scoring. They have been knocking around for a while and this is their 2^nd semi-final in 3 years. That’s a decent return on anyone’s book, and they are full value for it.

Pluses: They can hurl with controlled aggression. Plus Daly will have them primed for the task ahead. They will be full of confidence, so their hurling will be freer.

Minuses: Their forwards are due a bad day. How they react to that, and I’m not sure whether the replacement forward personnel are up to the task. Plus the hype will be difficult to ignore for the players.

Prospects: I’m taking them to beat Clare, but lose the All-Ireland final.

Galway:

How did it come to this for Galway? They should be All-Ireland Champions and sitting pretty in the semi-final after retaining their Leinster title. I wonder have they recovered from Henry Shefflin changing the course of last year’s drawn final? Galway have a tendency to flatter to deceive and should have more All-Irelands appearances alone following all of their underage success. The fact that they don’t raises questions which haven’t been answered. Any team with Joe Canning has a chance, but any team over reliant on one player risks being toothless of their star player can be curbed.

Pluses: Joe Canning. The one player who can equal Shefflin in influencing a game. Galway need to leave him at full-forward and let him hurl. By doing this, it opens up for the rest of talented Galway hurlers to flourish.

Minuses: They are too focused on Joe Canning. Where’s his best position is a line often trotted out after a defeat, but rarely mentioned in victory. Let Joe Hurl, and the rest of the team have to step up to the plate. Whether they have the bottle for this, I’m not sure.

Prospects: I’m taking Clare to beat them.

Kilkenny:

The Lazarus of the current campaign. Not hurling to their potential, but still chugging away. The problem for the other contenders is that Kilkenny’s standard is so high that when they don’t reach it, they are still hurling well. We tend to miss this when analysing their performances. Add in their injuries, and suddenly we can see how Kilkenny are struggling. Any team would miss Fennelly and a certain H. Shefflin. That Kilkenny are in the quarter-finals owes as much to Jackie Tyrell as any player. He has been immense in the campaign so far. This is Kilkenny, and their forward line will click in some game and we will all be mesmerised again.

Pluses: Fennelly and Shefflin are coming back into the team. There is also a certain Mr. Cody on the sideline. Kilkenny’s forward line is due an explosive game, and it can’t be far away.

Minuses: They’re not getting goals. Kilkenny always had the knack of getting early goals. This led to the opposition playing catch-up and the fact they were playing Kilkenny only added to the task. Factor in Shefflin isn’t 100% fit and nor is Tyrell and the glass isn’t as full as before. Kilkenny don’t seem to be able to shift through the gears as fluidly as before and this spells trouble.

Prospects: I’m taking them to beat Cork but lose to Limerick.

Limerick:

The last time Limerick won both minor and senior in the one year was 1940, and Limerick won the All-Ireland that year. Limerick are a serious outfit and have been growing steadily over the last few years. They now have scoring forwards on the field and on the bench. Problem being they are gifting teams goal scoring chances at the other end. To my count they have coughed up seven goal scoring chances in the two championship games this year. They need to change that. Their full-back line are playing well as individuals, but need to be a more compact line together, and their half-back line need to be closer to their full-back line. But they are serious contenders.

Pluses: They have scoring forwards, a huge plus for any team. Also, John Allen has them focussed, and the players seem to be listening to him.           The spine of the team is solid, and they have a potential superstar in Declan Hannon. Hannon is a game changer and seriously talented.

Minuses: They’re coughing up goal chances at an alarming rate. They will face a team that will take them and then they’re in trouble. Also, they have too many workmanlike hurlers in one area of the field between midfield and half-forward line. They may need to change that balance in a tight game.

Prospects: I’m taking them to beat Dublin in the All-Ireland final, and cue the mother and father of all pitch invasions at Croke Park!!