Mostly Hurling:So it's Wexford against Kilkenny again this year; the pretenders challenging the aristocrats. The Slaneysiders just about did enough to get the better of Dublin. They stuttered and stumbled and made hard work of winning. It's difficult to see them matching the Cats on last weekend's form. They just don't have a strong enough squad, I think, and squads win championships, writes  John Allen.

But credit Dublin. They are making progress but are in a very difficult group in the qualifiers. Considering the form Offaly showed for 40 minutes last Sunday, and the fact that the winners of Cork v Waterford and Tipp v Limerick are in the same group, we are in for some very interesting games. Dublin, even though they are improving, will still be considered the weakest team in the section. However, with players like Ronan Fallon, Derek O'Reilly, Tomás Brady and John McCaffrey leading the way it shouldn't be long before we'll see the Dubs hurlers challenging for major honours. The Metropolitans' under-21s should be quite strong this year as well.

Offaly can be quite pleased with their display against Kilkenny. I don't think the final score was a fair reflection of the game. After a slow settling-in period they more than matched their much-lauded opponents. John McIntyre can take much credit for having the courage to pick so many young players. Ger Oakley epitomised the spirit that Offaly played with.

Joe Bergin didn't deliver this time but we all know he's much better than that. Rory and Gary Hanniffy did well at times. What has to be most pleasing from Offaly's point of view were the performances of David Kenny at centre back, Barry Teehan and Brendan Murphy at midfield and the free-taking of Damien Murray.

I was impressed with their youngsters when they played Cork in the opening league match. These two championship games will do them no end of good.

But what of Kilkenny? Well they weren't as good as I thought they would be. They were matched in many areas of the field last Sunday. Martin Comerford was their outstanding performer. His work-rate can sometimes go unnoticed. In the early stages of the game it seemed like he was going to single-handedly take the Offaly full-back line apart. He is becoming as important as Henry Shefflin - or maybe he has always been so but we didn't acknowledge it.

Cha Fitzpatrick was very efficient at midfield and took his scores well. Tommy Walsh was under a bit of pressure in the first half but came into his own after half-time. Brian Cody will have been happy enough with Henry Shefflin. JJ Delaney, Jackie Tyrell and Noel Hickey. The rest were adequate.

The overall performance will at least give hope to the other pretenders in the competition.

Speaking of pretenders, Limerick, without winning, pushed themselves up the ladder. They gave a courageous display very much against the odds. Playing with 14 men for 50 minutes in the heat of Thurles they showed why they could be contenders. Ollie Moran had a fantastic first half and also set up Pat Tobin for the goal that will no doubt be a contender for goal of the year.

Young Séamus Hickey's contribution in limiting Eoin Kelly to two points was also a very notable achievement.

When they played smart they were good; when they overdid the aggression they lost a player and conceded silly frees. The teams that win at this level have to be physical but it has to be controlled. Lose the head and you lose the game. A player needs to be, first and foremost, in control of himself. The player who gets rattled easily is a liability. Damien Reale was very fortunate to only get a yellow card for his mean pull on Eoin Kelly. It could have cost Limerick the game. With the odds against them they then played spirited, controlled hurling and will feel well-placed to complete the job tomorrow.

Tipperary, on the other hand, didn't play as a unit at all. They were poor in too many positions. Only John Carroll, and to a lesser extent Darragh Egan, Shane McGrath and Lar Corbett, when he was introduced, can be happy with their performances. Carroll played with a lot of heart and showed all his experience in taking his goal with an unhookable stroke. They had too many players who underperformed, though. Benny Dunne was left on Ollie Moran for far too long. But how often have we seen the team with the numerical advantage losing?

But Tipp have a second chance at home. Will they show sufficient improvement?

I think the pendulum may have swung in Limerick's favour. Psychologically, they won last Sunday's game. I believe they now know they can beat this particular Tipp team. But they have to be disciplined from start to finish.

Tipperary will hardly play as poorly again. Will Eoin Kelly be held to two points? Will Ollie Moran have as much of an influence on this game? Will we see a better all-round team performance? I think we might have new Munster finalists this year.

This Sunday's Munster semi-final mightn't be the cracker we were all looking forward to. It has been almost totally overshadowed by bureaucracy.

The whole saga was so badly managed.Why did it take so long to deliver a verdict? I know there are probably reasons but are they good enough? The players are the most important people in all of this. The eight players from Cork and Clare and their managements have been left in limbo for the last 16 days.

Disciplinary matters should be dealt with in a transparent, uncomplicated, speedy manner. They should also be binding. We've always had too much stroke pulling in the GAA (and I mean the off-field variety). The fact is there was an incident; suspensions were handed down; appeals were heard; now it's time to accept and move on.

However, the on-field pressure is now on Waterford. I know they would much prefer to play a full-strength Cork team. It would set them back a little to be beaten by a full-strength Cork; it would set them back a lot to be beaten by an understrength side.

All that said, I think we'll have new Munster finalists here too.