WATCHING Kilkenny dishing out drubbings to their rivals has become almost embarrassing at this stage. After already hammering Dublin and Galway while barely breaking into a sweat, it was the turn of arch-rivals Cork on Sunday to be given a lesson in the art of hurling.

Even playing without their talisman Henry Shefflin for over half the match didn't force Kilkenny to break their stride – they simply blew Cork off the field and could even afford to ease up before the end as they sauntered to a facile victory.

The fact that they can lose the likes of Shefflin and centreback Brian Hogan to injury and bring on replacements without skipping a beat is frightening for the others that are trying to break their vicelike grip on the championship. The Noresiders have better hurlers on the bench than the players on the starting 15 for other county teams and when called upon they can fit seamlessly into the game.

Some will tell you that we're witnessing the greatest exponents of the ancient game that have ever been seen, while others will insist that the standard of the competition has plummeted so much that it makes the Cats look better than they really are. ' Final Whistle' believes that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

In its competitive hey-day in the 90s you could maybe name nine or ten counties at the start of the season that could realistically harbour hopes of lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup – say Kilkenny, Tipperary, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Clare, Limerick, Offaly and Wexford. Now that's sadly down to one – the dominant Kilkenny. Maybe at a push you could give Tipp an outside chance of causing an upset if the Cats had an off day.

Apart from Kilkenny, Tipperary are probably the only ones that would mix it with their own county men of the past. Cork are way below what we'd expect from the Rebels, Waterford, although performing admirably, are not as good as they were a few years back, Galway have flattered to deceive in recent years, while Offaly have shown signs of improvement but are still light years behind their sides of the 80s and 90s.

Dublin may have made strides in recent years but they are still way below the bar that's being set by the champions, while Clare, Limerick and Wexford have slipped to a ridiculously low ebb.

Of course it's not Kilkenny's fault that they're so far ahead of the pack – but in some ways it's not the pack's fault either. How can you compete with a county that lives and breathes hurling? In other counties the lure of rugby, soccer and other sports is stronger, but in Kilkenny you're pretty much born with a hurl in your hand.

Just look at the hammering that their Minors dished out to Galway on Sunday - five or six of them will probably break into the Senior squad over the next two or three years – so what hope have the rest of the hurling world got of bridging the ever-widening gap?

Undoubtedly Kilkenny will win five-in-a-row and it wouldn't be a surprise if they went on to win seven, eight or even ten in a row. But are they the greatest of all time? They're definitely up there, but unless the other pretenders to the throne lift their game we can't say a definitive yes quite yet.

The true test of champions is how they react when their supremacy is tested. They pulled a victory out of the bag when needed in the All-Ireland final last year when they were asked a serious question by Tipperary, but we need to see them put to the pin of their collar more regularly. It's unlikely that whoever wins next Sunday's semi-final will get as close as Tipp last year and Kilkenny's reign as top cats looks set to continue.

Ah well, at least they're crap at football!

- Dave DEVEREUX