By close of play this Sunday, one of Galway or Tipperary will be putting the hurls, helmets and sliothars away until next year.
Both sides take each other on in a qualifier in Semple Stadium and the fallout could be huge for the losing side and their managers.
Tonight we were joined by the Sunday Independent's Damian Lawlor to preview the match which "either team could win" and to discuss the ramifications of defeat.
"Eamon [O'Shea] has another year to go after this term but as you know he's got a very demanding job in NUI Galway," said Lawlor of the Tipp manager.
"He would have invested a huge amount into Tipperary over the past two years. Ideally, I think he'd like to working in structures beneath senior level but I think he's been very hands-on from the day he approached the job. He's got Tipperary to two league finals but Tipp haven't won a Championship match since 2012 and Eamon is under pressure of course. I think he'll deal with that but lose Saturday night and the possibility of going back for a third year won't be all that appealing."
But he believes that if O'Shea wants a third year then the Tipp County Board would be willing to acquiesce.
As for the game, Lawlor is expecting a cracker.
"It's the game of the round and either team can win this. That's the beauty of it and there'll be a good crowd at it."
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