Five talking points ahead of final round of group games in Limerick Senior Hurling Championship

LEADER SPORT takes a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the final round of group games in the Whitebox Limerick Senior Hurling Championship. All six take place in the Limerick SHC on Saturday. 

1. Doon aiming to book a place directly into the semi-finals 

COUNTY champions Doon have already secured their place in the knock-out stages, but Derek McGrath’s men will be targeting victory over Ahane this weekend to guarantee a direct route to the semi-final. Even in defeat, Doon could still progress to the last four. They currently sit on six points with a scoring difference of +19, while Ballybrown trail on four points with a difference of +4, and Kilmallock also have four points but with a difference of –7. That superior scoring margin should stand strongly in Doon’s favour.

2. Ballybrown and Kilmallock face off in a crucial clash 

After's Ballybrown's narrow defeat to Doon in round four and Kilmallock's loss to Na Piarsaigh, the clash between those two clubs is effectively a knock-out clash as defeat for either side would mean elimination should Ahane overcome Doon. The Clarina based club have recorded two victories and suffered two losses in their opening four games. Meanwhile, Kilmallock have played out two draws, registered a win and sufffered a loss in their group games. 

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3. Ahane targetting knockout hurling 

Ahane got their championship campaign back on track with a victory over Patrickswell on in round four of the Limerick SHC. They know that a win over Doon and a defeat for either Kilmallock or Ballybrown will see them advance into the quarter-finals. After finishing fifth in the last five year's Ahane sharpshooter Tom Morrissey said they are keen to make the quarter-finals.

"We finished with four points last year but didn't get out of the group. We are on three points going into the last round, we've been knocking on the door we have finished in fifth place in the last five years. We'd love to get out of the group and see a quarter-final, we have to win the last day out if that's going to be a possibility," added Morrissey. 

4. Adare are in pole position to make knockout hurling 

Adare are in second place on five points in group two of the SHC. Mark Foley's side are in pole position to reach knockout hurling if they defeat Newcastle West in their final group game. A win will see them finish in second place and advance into the SHC quarter-finals. It has been a remarkable turnaround for Adare considering they lost Wayne McNaMara and Willie Griffin to injury for some games in the championship. 

5. Dromin-Athlacca likely to make the drop to Premier Intermediate 

Dromin-Athlacca look like favourites to make the drop to the premier intermediate grde sitting on one point after four games. The South Limerick club need to beat Mungret St Paul's if they have any chance of surviving in the SHC and hope that Monaleen and Adare can get wins against Kildimo-Pallaskenry and Newcastle West. That would then leave Newcastle West, Dromin-Athlacca and Kildimo-Pallaskenry all on three points.