The Munster Camogie Championship returns this weekend with Waterford looking to build on the good work done in the league.
The provincial competition came to an end at the semi-final for the Déise in 2023, losing heavily to Tipperary before their run that saw them line out in Croke Park for an ill-fated All-Ireland opposite Cork.
Since then, the manager has been changed with Jerry Wallace now at the helm in place of Sean Power.
The league campaign saw the Déise finish fourth in Division 1A with two wins from their five games, beating Tipperary and Clare, but losses to Cork, Galway and Kilkenny proved costly in their hopes of a place in the league final.
A win over the Cats on the final day might have been enough if results elsewhere had gone their way, but the result in Walsh Park brought an end to any hopes of a place in the decider.
Waterford's Championship opener with Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday is as good a starting fixture as they could have hoped for with Waterford holding the bragging rights over Limerick in their meetings over the past two seasons. When they met in last year's All-Ireland series, it ended 2.19 to 0.11, backing up the dominant league win from earlier in the season where Waterford smashed the Treaty 3.24 to 2.06.
In this year's league, playing in Division 1B, Limerick won three of their five outings with high-scoring wins over Wexford, Down and Kerry, while they were within a score of Antrim and seven points short of Dublin.
Their result over Wexford points to something more in the Limerick legs. While they had little to play for in that final game, they beat the table toppers by two points to end their league run on a high.
"It will be a great day for everyone, a great experience for everyone," says Manager Jerry Wallace on the eve of the clash at the Gaelic Grounds.
This game serves as the curtain raiser to the Munster hurling tie of Limerick and Tipperary with the two camogie sides able to play in front of a capacity crowd on Shannonside.
"Get to play in a big stadium with the crowd coming in and the support for both Tipperary and Limerick in the match following us. That's a fabulous achievement now to say that Camogie is being promoted alongside the male game, so it's great, kudos to everyone."
One player who has their sights set on going a step further in 2024 is De La Salle's Beth Carton. The 2023 player of the year has been ripping it up once again, scoring for fun in the league and acting as the beating heart of this Waterford team.
For a player of Carton's ability and skill, a losing All-Ireland will never be enough.
"I suppose, like any competition you enter, it's always the aim to win it. Just taking each game as they come, with Limerick first, it will be a serious battle and we haven't really looked past that at all yet. It's knockout Championship, this Munster, so next weekend is all we've looked at. Overall, you'd love to win it, but it's just getting over Limerick is the first task and then we'll go from there."
