John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer revealed the only way to beat Limerick ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals this weekend.
The 31-year-old retired from inter-county hurling in February, despite not playing for Tipperary since 2021.
O'Dwyer, who has had his fair share of injury issues, was asked about his experiences playing against Limerick and which is the best way to go about beating them.
READ MORE: John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer felt he deserved 'respect' of phone call from Tipperary boss Liam Cahill
"Compacting the middle third… The only way to beat Limerick now is if you can nullify from five to 12," O'Dwyer told Betway.
"They’re massive players from five to 12 and they’re all massive leaders so if you can get on top of 50% of them, it’s a massive help. We went with the double-11 in 2021, it worked in the first half and didn’t in the second half.
"This weekend, it might depend on who sets up at six for Limerick; if it’s Dan Morrissey, a double-11 might work but if it’s a Kyle Hayes or a Barry Nash, you might need to put Cianan Fahy in there to try to nullify their influence on the game."
O'Dwyer went into further detail about how to tactically overcome John Kiely's side by dragging them out of position.
"It’s all about getting on top of their middle eight players and then having the inside forwards. I reckon the way to do it is to compact the whole middle area and try to leave Conor Whelan — I presume Mike Casey will pick him up — inside maybe one-on-one or two-on-two even," O'Dwyer added.
"Maybe try to drag Limerick out, but they are very structured and good at staying in their positions so if you get a couple of scores from outside, then you might drag them out and target Whelan or Kevin Cooney inside."
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