Another failure for the Waterford hurlers to progress from Munster, but any green shoots may be hard to find given the Déise production line looks to be under serious pressure, according to former Limerick hurler Niall Moran.
After opening with a win and a draw against Cork and Tipperary, Davy Fitzgerald's side looked well placed to make a mark in this year's championship, but that failure to see out the game against the Premier County proved costly by the end of the provincial business.
Defeats in the final two rounds against Clare and Limerick extinguished another disappointing campaign that began with a sizzling display in the early summer sunshine against the Rebels.
Had Davy Fitzgerald's side closed out against Tipperary when in a strong position in round two, the subsequent defeats would not have been so costly; they would have edged out the Rebels on the head-to-head.
As it is, the Déise hurlers will be operating in a watching brief only for the remainder of the championship.
"They definitely fluffed their lines against Tipperary coming down the home straight, up four points at home, and game sewn up," he said.
"That ultimately would have been enough to see them through.
"With the league that they had, and the number of injuries they had, the performances in championship definitely exceeded expectations."
Moran says that while there is clearly talent at Fitzgerald’s disposal at present, he has concerns for what is coming through the county given their dire underage record in recent years.
Since 2015 they have played 30 minor championship matches and won just six of them, this year’s win over Limerick a first in the grade since 2018, while things are even more bleak at under-20 level.
Since they won the All-Ireland in 2016 (under-21 at the time), their record at that grade is one victory from 16 games; that win came against Kerry.
"From the outside looking in at Waterford, I felt once they went direct, they have a really exciting calibre of hurler, but for Davy going forward, and I imagine he will stay with them and is still probably the right fit for them, I’m not quite sure where he will find players to improve upon it," Moran said.
"Waterford’s record at underage is anaemic. They may pay the price for that over the next couple of years, even in the next 12 months if they look to improve."
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