Galway's senior camogie team face Cork this weekend in the first encounter between the two teams since last year's All-Ireland final.
Both teams have had uncharacteristically poor starts to their league campaigns. Galway have found form recently though, winning their last two games on the bounce, but Cork have registered just one victory so far.
That victory for the Rebels came against Kilkenny a fortnight ago. Last weekend they shared the spoils with Tipperary, despite leading by eight points at half-time. They fell to Antrim and Waterford in the opening two fixtures.
Galway, on the other hand, have got back into their groove after losing their first two fixtures. The Tribeswomen built on their victory over Tipp with another win away to Antrim last Saturday. That two-point victory sees Galway sitting in second place behind an imperious Waterford side so far.
But Cathal Murray's team did not have it all their own way at Robert Emmets. They grinded out a hard-fought 1-13 to 1-11 victory, having made six changes to the team that defeated Tipperary a week earlier.
Niamh Mallon showed her point-scoring quality in the first-half, with Carrie Dolan netting a goal from a free. But Antrim would not go away and the sides would go into the interval level at 1-7 apiece.
Both sides traded scores in the second-half in a fiercely competitive battle. Level with eight minutes to play, Galway's quality told as they finished the stronger. A late free from Dolan and a point from substitute Aoibheann Barry secured victory for the Tribeswomen.
Victory for Galway over their rivals would be huge for their league final aspirations. Cork will be keen to build some consistency into their performances. But clashes between these two rarely require added motivation.
Galway will want to send the reminder to the masses that they are all the All-Ireland champions for a reason come Saturday.
