The Waterford hurlers will take on Tipperary in a top of the table clash in Division 1B on Saturday night at Semple Stadium.
The Déise have picked up five points from three outings so far. Manager Davy Fitzgerald says that they are working on a game plan ahead of next month's Munster championship. "I've often heard down through the years about swashbuckling hurling here which is get the ball and hit the ball 80 or 90 yards and hopefully your man will win it. My honest opinion is that won't win any of the two big things you're trying to win in Waterford. It's too basic. I like short and long, carry it a bit. I know at times, in the first few games, we've overcarried it a small bit but that's because we're working on different things. We are getting a lot of shots off, we're getting off over 40 shots a game, which is massive. We've got to continue to do that. If you do that, you'll be in with a shot of winning most games."
Fitzgerald believes that his team can compete for championship silverware over the next two years. "Fair play to the Waterford supporters, they've been brilliant so far. You're always going to get a few negative people that will be giving out. That's their right and that's fine too, they can continue to do that. It's been a long time since we've won any big championship in Waterford. That's my aim, over the next two years, to try and get ourselves in that position. I've said it from day one: a small bit of pain to get a bit of gain. That's what we want, that's what we strive for: to win one of those championships or the two of them over the next two years. That's the main objective."
The Clareman hopes to have Tadhg De Burca and Iarlaith Daly back in the Déise defence on Saturday night.
Tipperary v Waterford will be the George Corbett Skoda Big Match on WLR. Join Kieran O'Connor and Eoin Murphy for live coverage from 7 o'clock.
