Five talking points from Limerick's Allianz Hurling League draw with Cork

LIMERICK played out a draw with Cork on last Saturday night in round two of the Allianz Hurling League. Kiely's charges will now switch their focus to their first home game of the year in Division 1A against Tipperary at 3:45pm on Sunday. 

Leader Sport takes a look at five talking points from last Saturday night's game at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

1. Limerick and Cork is turning into an intense rivalry 

Limerick and Cork brought a huge intensity to the clash between the counties on last Saturday night. There were plenty of off-the-ball incidents between players from the two sides. After two Titantic tussles in the championship last year, it's likely Limerick and Cork could meet further down the line in the 2025 championship. 

2. Jason Gillane steps up in the absence of Nickie Quaid 

The loss of Nickie Quaid has been a major blow for Limerick. Jason Gillane stepped up in his absence and the Patrickswell clubman performed excellently in Quaid's absence. Gillane impressed with his distribution from puckouts and the former Mary Immaculate College student looked comfortable wearing the Limerick number one jersey. 

3. Fringe players take their opportunity 

Kiely fielded an experimental Limerick starting XV team on Saturday night. Seven players had started from Limerick starting XV that were defeated to Cork last year in the All-Ireland semi-final. Barry Murphy, who has previously lined out in attack for Limerick, played at corner back. Murphy, Patrick O'Donovan, Colin Coughlan and Adam English all made the most of their opportunity to impress. 

4. Injuries 

Three Limerick players were forced off through injury. Gearoid Hegarty was forced off with a hand injury on 16 minutes. Then,  Sean Finn was unable to come back out for the second half. Midfielder, William O'Donoghue, who scored the Limerick goal, proved to be a huge loss in the final quarter as the Na Piarsaigh clubman went off with a hamstring injury. 

5. Tipperary up next 

The Limerick senior hurlers will now switch their focus to round three of the Allianz National Hurling League against Tipperary. This will be the Shannonsiders' first time playing a competitive game in the TUS Gaelic Grounds since last May. Tom Morrissey, Mike Casey, Declan Hannon, Peter Casey, Darragh O'Donovan and Barry Nash didn't play last weekend. All six players could be in contention to feature this weekend.