It’s all happening this weekend. Kind of. This will be the first in a series of blockbuster GAA weeks and even if we didn’t get the hurling draw most neutrals wanted, we do have a compelling fixture in Nowlan Park at least, a precursor for the following weekend when three heavyweights into two just won’t go.

It looks like a formality that Tipperary, Waterford and Dublin will be in the draw next Monday, but it is likely that Kilkenny will join them. It will be worth listening to Morning Ireland then, as this week’s radio was a bit of a damp squib.

No matter, this weekend should be about the provincial finals anyway and there will be a very healthy attendance in Croke Park on Sunday for the Leinster hurling final. Wexford and Galway clash for the very first time in the decider, and what is rare is wonderful. I’ll be among the 50-odd thousand at HQ.

The Tribesmen are uncomfortable All-Ireland favourites in the sense that Tipp and Kilkenny’s troubles have seen them elevated to champions in waiting in the eyes of many. That is always a dangerous space for the likes of Galway, but Davy Fitz’s team will do them the service of possibly relieving them of that tag.

The Yellow Bellies can do that by beating Galway, or at least bringing them to the well. Either way they can and will ask questions that Galway haven’t had to answer since last year’s All-Ireland semi-final. Let’s not forget that Galway have had an easy run this summer to date, with both Dublin and Offaly offering little resistance. It’s also important to remember that the league final, impressive as it was, was just the league final.

If there is a hole in the Connacht side then Wexford are well built to find it. Knowing Davy, he will have an entirely different plan for this game and the fact that he was in Thurles to watch Cork and Waterford on the day Galway were winning their Leinster semi-final suggests he is comfortable in what he plans to do on Sunday.

Having knocked off Kilkenny to reach this final, regained Division 1A status and generally revitalised the county’s spirits, Fitzgerald is in bonus territory and no better man manager to capitalise on the momentum that has all generated. Wexford are in this to win it all now, any team that knocks off the Cats in championship are legitimate All-Ireland contenders – at least they’re entitled to think so anyway.

So this is the next test, and while it is a step up, I give Wexford a great chance. Physically they can stand up to Galway, and there is the rub, for they have done it already. Galway have only lost one game this season and yes, you guessed it, that was to Wexford, in Salthill no less, and it was an important one for it decided who went back up to the top flight.

What’s changed since then? Galway have gone unbeaten and looked well nigh unbeatable in the league final, while Wexford have beaten Kilkenny twice in games that mattered. Belief must be surging in both counties and that suggests a close contest. Wexford are current 5/2 outsiders and that is value.

Right now there are injury concerns in the Wexford camp over Conor McDonald and if his ankle ailment keeps him out, then Wexford’s task becomes far more difficult. Cathal Mannion and Joe Cooney are doubts for the westerners, both would be losses but not on the McDonald scale.

Can Lee Chin possibly play as well with all the attention he will surely get? Will Galway continue on this mythical road of consistency that they’ve been travelling for a while now? Certainties are few. This is a final and things happen in showpieces no one sees coming. One fact that will stand up is that if either side are not at full tilt, then the other one will make hay. It’s been a dramatic hurling year thus far and I think that trend stays with us Sunday. Wexford will tell us if Galway are the real deal. I’m leaning towards the men in purple and gold.

Munster Rivals

The Munster football final can only have one winner. Surely. Yet there is a nagging doubt in Kerry minds about Cork. Years of tradition are playing puck with them because they suspect that Cork are saving a performance for Fitzgerald Stadium. Some think the Rebels are far better than the one-point wins over Waterford and Tipperary suggest, when all the evidence says this is a soft Munster title. I watched Kerry against Clare and was impressed with their mettle that day, as well as their bench. Cork pride might ensure a contest for a while, but Kerry look set to cruise on towards September.

Qualifiers

The hurling qualifiers have given us Kilkenny and Limerick and little else. Waterford, Dublin and Tipp will be through to what will be a much better draw next Monday, but we are drawn to Nowlan Park. Limerick are in the last-chance saloon and there are few more inhospitable places to go than Nowlan Park when a hurt Kilkenny are awaiting you. So, with nothing to lose, the stubborn streak that has always been with Limerick teams will manifest itself. There has to be a performance in them.

This is do-or-die in the proper sense because the loser goes out not having won a game this summer and that would be very hard to take. They won’t admit it, but the home side are under pressure on Saturday night. The cloak of invincibility is gone and that was always worth a few points.

By throw-in, Limerick will be backboned by a couple of 2015’s All-Ireland U-21s as well as the returning Diarmaid Byrnes and Gearoid Hegarty. Look out for Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey and Peter Casey to make impacts, with stalwarts Seamus Hickey, James Ryan and Richie McCarthy leading by example.

This could be a cracker and another contest that mightn’t be as straightforward as predicted. It’s time the Cats didn’t have to rely on TJ Reid for inspiration. They have enough for Limerick but only if Richie Hogan, Paul Murphy and Walter Walsh, to name just three, rediscover their form. Its loss, after all, must be temporary. Kilkenny, but not by much.

The round 2A football games are on Saturday too, with home wins looking nailed-on for Donegal, Mayo and Meath.

In Portlaoise, Clare take on Laois and I’m hoping, neigh (dangerously) expecting Clare to have enough to get to the next round and do it all without the need of extra time because the road south to Nowlan Park beckons for me at the final whistle. CL