Tipperary's reputation for "home of hurling" arrogance was little in evidence this week in the county's newspapers where the pessimism of fans was all too evident. The Guardian's Gerry Slevin (left) was moved to take Tipp supporters to task. "You know, it's amazing, downright disloyal might I say, to hear all the balderdash being spoken in relation to Tipp's prospects on Sunday. `They wouldn't bate (sic) flies off a dead animal'; `good for nothin' - and much more besides. If ever a Tipp team has good reason to go and prove people wrong, this one has."

Culbaire in the Tipperay Star wrote of the team's unsettled nature: "Sometimes you hear the lack of a consistent and predictable formation quoted as a criticism of those in charge, but it's only a consequence of having so few undeniable claimants after all the games played in league or lesser event."

The preview material of the Waterford News and Star had a more confident swagger, while Gerald McCarthy, the county's manager and the paper's columnist, revealed how old wounds are sometimes exposed in banter. Two of his current selectors, Damien Byrne and Tipperary's Colm Bonnar, were on opposing sides in the fractious, televised Munster final of 1989. "Damien swears the Tippmen still have their Oscars from that day, but Colm still refuses to show us his one."