Shane McGrath and Jamesie O'Connor expect Limerick will be the team to beat in the All-Ireland final despite manager John Kiely's reaction to their semi-final triumph over Cork.
The Treaty boss started his post-match press conference with a warning to the media that he would 'shut down the whole thing' if one of his players was personally contacted.
Kiely is keen to avoid any hype in the lead up to the showpiece event but McGrath believes some of his players will relish the attention.
"I've been working in the Limerick for the past nine or 10 years and they do have a tendency to get carried away," McGrath told Off The Ball.
"People having a huge hurling knowledge in the city are the people who are going to drive the hype through the roof.
"But I think you have a group of players there now who are used to winning and that have won All-Ireland club medals, college medals, minor medals - these guys are used to winning All-Irelands.
"Obviously it's going to be the biggest stage of all but I think they'll get all that [hype] parked up in the next week but I think it's whatever works for you.
"In 2007 Limerick went up in hope rather than anything else because they played the greatest hurling team ever to play [the game].
"They're going up this time fully believing that they can win this because they have a special squad and I think that's the difference for the players now.
"They're used to winning - they'll be fine. Let everyone else worry about what's going on in the background with the media.
"But I think this group of players will be really looking forward to the buildup and to the All-Ireland final."
O'Connor also had his say on why Kiely was swept away by thoughts of a potential media frenzy.
"It was an instinctive reaction of we can't repeat the same mistakes of the past," O'Connor said.
"There was huge hype in Limerick after the third round of the Munster round-robin. And there was nothing that Kiely and the players could have done about that.
"It was totally out of their control. But whether players get affected by that...there was an assertion about having to be grounded.
"He had them in a huddle after the game and he was certainly barking orders of there's still unfinished business here and there's still another game to be played.
"The energy the Limerick players will bring in three weeks time is bad news for Galway or Clare because they are going to be very hard to beat - particularly in the manner they beat Cork."
James Hopper
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
