The Waterford senior hurlers continue their league campaign tomorrow with the trip to O' Moore Park on the cards.
An opening day draw with Dublin made it a repeat of last years league start, and now Davy Fitzgerald's team will look for a first win in the competition.
Forced changes in selection are rarely welcomed, but considering we are still in the early phases of the league, the loss of Stephen Bennett can be overcome.
Fitzgerald has plenty of options to pick from and these early games are the ideal time to see which second-string players can put their hand up to claim a jersey.
Laois boss Willie Maher has Dan Shanahan by his side as a selector this year. They were put to the sword by Tipperary in their first game, losing 2.32 to 0.18 in Semple Stadium last Saturday.
The O' Moore county will be hoping for a response this weekend, having failed to match the Premier in the physical stakes.
The gentle upwards trajectory in the quality of opponents is likely to be of benefit to Waterford throughout this league, with the Laois game followed by Antrim before ramping up in quality with Tipperary and Kilkenny to end the league run.
The fixtures have indeed landed nicely for the hurlers and if the management team gets it right - and are lucky on the injury front - they should be humming for the Championship opener with Limerick in April.
