Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[The Highway Man]

Nope, not offended at all, just pointing out that you are quite simple and imagining things that were never said. You should get that seen to, do you hear voices as well? Clearly you also need to garner some information on wokedom.

I hope they win Sunday and we can unite as one. Stay safe.

 

[Vladimir The Bear]

No need to explain boy, you’re opinion is one of the most valued on here

Hope to god we have turned a corner tactically and mentally, we will know on Sunday

Tactically I'd be confident we have.

Mentally, the jury is still out. And even if we win on Sunday it will still be out.

Only when we play Limerick again be that later this year (hopefully) or next year and the lads show they are willing to go to the bitter end no matter if we are 5 or 6 down and physically go after Limerick even if its a lost cause will I be of the opinion that mentally something has changed.

I can begrudgingly accept that currently Limerick are better then us but I cannot accept Limerick bullying us and our lads taking it.

 

[mathuna]

Tactically I'd be confident we have.

Mentally, the jury is still out. And even if we win on Sunday it will still be out.

Agree Vlad. At least it looks like the penny has dropped that selecting defenders in defence, midfielders in midfield and forwards up front is the best way to go. That and dispensing with the tiki taka/backwards passing nonsense are two leaps forward. That in turn should help fuel lads belief that we can achieve 'something'.

I can't see us or anyone else beating LK though. If they're healthy they're a beast of a team right now. They have a host of brilliant players who are better than anyone any other team has (except Tony Kelly). List the top 10 players in the country right now in your head and see when you land on someone outside LK/TK.

 

[red&blue]

I can begrudgingly accept that currently Limerick are better then us but I cannot accept Limerick bullying us and our lads taking it.

My exact feelings too

 

[Vladimir The Bear]

They have a host of brilliant players who are better than anyone any other team has (except Tony Kelly). List the top 10 players in the country right now in your head and see when you land on someone outside LK/TK.

Nicky Quaid
Sean Finn
Diarmuid Byrnes
Kyle Hayes
Cian Lynch
Gearoid Hegarty
Aaron Gillane

Tony Kelly
Austin Gleeson

That's the best 9 players in my view.

Throw in anyone of Mark Coleman, Sean O Donaghue, Tadhg De Burca, John Conlon, Conor Whealan, Eoin Cody, Danny Sutcliffe to make up the top 10.

 

[mathuna]

Yep, couldn't argue with that. Could add Will O'Donoghue, Adrian Mullen and maybe Rory O'Connor into that mix. But its easy to see why LK are so far ahead when you lay them out like this. They could have 2-3 lads misfiring and still have 3-4 of the top 10 in the country playing well to carry them through.

 

[BossHogg]

Yep, couldn't argue with that. Could add Will O'Donoghue, Adrian Mullen and maybe Rory O'Connor into that mix. But its easy to see why LK are so far ahead when you lay them out like this. They could have 2-3 lads misfiring and still have 3-4 of the top 10 in the country playing well to carry them through.

TJ

 

[rebel without a caus]

Selection of top players in country right now:

Peter Dugga
Tony Kelly
John Conlon
Sean O'donoghue
Will O'Donoghue (Lim)
TJ Reid
Eoin Cody
Gearóid Hegarty (Lim)
Cian Lynch (Lim)
Dessie Hutchinson
Diarmuid Byrnes (Lim)
Tom Morrisey (Lim)
Rory O'connor
Conor Wheelan
Shane Conway
Conor Lehane

Saying that Limerick have all the top 10 players in the country is an absolutely ludicrous statement.
They probably have 3 or 4 in top 10. With other counties having 1 or 2 (Cork, Clare, Kilkenny, etc)

 

[SoundMan]

Tactically I'd be confident we have.

Mentally, the jury is still out. And even if we win on Sunday it will still be out.

Only when we play Limerick again be that later this year (hopefully) or next year and the lads show they are willing to go to the bitter end no matter if we are 5 or 6 down and physically go after Limerick even if its a lost cause will I be of the opinion that mentally something has changed.

I can begrudgingly accept that currently Limerick are better then us but I cannot accept Limerick bullying us and our lads taking it.

To be honest Vlad I think the mentality of the team will have come on given that they beat Waterford their victors in the League Final, down in their own dump when most people didn't Cork would do it. And the fact that we're no longer leaking goals like a sieve leaks water is something that a team should thrive on, a bit more confident going forward that at least now the back door is closed if not quite firmly locked just yet.

It's the tactics and in-game management that I'm more worried about - Coleman is still tippy-tapping and turning in circles and I wonder if they fell into TOM up front more by accident rather than by design. Speaking to a pal from Wahfud who knows his hurling reckoned they were completely over-trained for the game and a couple of their players were played despite carrying injuries - and he said that to me in advance of the game. So it's somewhat debateable where we should rank the wahfud game just yet.

Sunday should tell a lot. Not just about the players and their mental strength but the tactical nous of our line. I confess I still have some doubts but it's in our hands and I think this bunch of players know they have it in them. Hopefully they can convert that on Sunday.

 

[Killyoursons]

Tactically I'd be confident we have.

Mentally, the jury is still out. And even if we win on Sunday it will still be out.

Only when we play Limerick again be that later this year (hopefully) or next year and the lads show they are willing to go to the bitter end no matter if we are 5 or 6 down and physically go after Limerick even if its a lost cause will I be of the opinion that mentally something has changed.

I can begrudgingly accept that currently Limerick are better then us but I cannot accept Limerick bullying us and our lads taking it.

I'm not yet convinced on the tactical side of things. The improvements to the spine of the team are very encouraging, as was the huge step-up in workrate, but I'm not convinced about the balance in midfield and at half-forward. Cork still struggled on their own puck-outs, even into the second half when they were playing better. I think there needs to be at least one more player in this area who can either win primary possession or breaking ball, and for this reason I would be inclined to keep Kingston and Hoggy on the bench. But I'd say at least one of them will start at the weekend.

More generally, Cork's performance needs to be seen in the context of Waterford freezing up badly. Not only did they have some terrible misses, but they brought very little physical pressure on Cork. For me the single biggest question over this Cork team is whether they can play their game against a well-drilled and physically imposing opposition. Waterford didn't provide that last weekend, but based on their game against Limerick, Tipp certainly will.