Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[bluesball]

The quad.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

A Good year is bringing Liam home anything other than that is failure

Harsh on Bridgestone.

 

[bluesball]

it took me a few seconds but i like it

 

[red&blue]

I’d agree with the jist of this junior, we have turned our season around dramatically but there are big tests ahead and I don’t know have we enough to get over them.

I’d expect to be playing Antrim next and up there that could be a right banana skin, then Kilkenny in the quarter final and that will be a 50/50 game but I wouldn’t like to be meeting Galway who are just as physical as Kilkenny but much better hurlers.

Talk of beating Limerick or winning all irelands is very premature for me, while things are coming together nicely we are still trying to find a settled line up and still coming to terms with playing a more direct style.

As you said all this should have been done in the league and not only when the players demanded it midway through the Munster championship. unfortunately it all leaves me wondering do the management have the nous to get us over the line in a tight game?

Whatever about Kilkenny we are not 50:50 with Galway at all by any rational analysis of where the two teams stand.
Galway are a team cork hate playing against- very physical and direct if they want to be.
I think fellas need to calm down and in fairness the knowledgeable posters are as usual, Waterford and tipp blew up this year and obviously there are things going on there in the background.
Cork did the job and deserve praise but they have a while to go to say they would beat Galway for example.
Still wouldn’t be fully convinced bt the management team as any crew that could set cork up the way they did this year until the players told them enough wouldn’t inspire confidence.

 

[red&blue]

IMHO Kingston is not a good coach/manager but what he is is that he is a lucky manager.
Last year we had great luck with the draw and played a poor by there standards kilkenny team in the semi final.and this year we faced almost the worst Tipp team i have seen in a few decades in a game we had to win to survive.
There is nothing wrong with having a lucky manager and i hope it continues as i have us @ 10/1 to reach the semi final..

He wasn’t so lucky when it counted on the big day

 

[TexasRed]

I’d agree with the jist of this junior, we have turned our season around dramatically but there are big tests ahead and I don’t know have we enough to get over them.

I’d expect to be playing Antrim next and up there that could be a right banana skin, then Kilkenny in the quarter final and that will be a 50/50 game but I wouldn’t like to be meeting Galway who are just as physical as Kilkenny but much better hurlers.

Talk of beating Limerick or winning all irelands is very premature for me, while things are coming together nicely we are still trying to find a settled line up and still coming to terms with playing a more direct style.

As you said all this should have been done in the league and not only when the players demanded it midway through the Munster championship. unfortunately it all leaves me wondering do the management have the nous to get us over the line in a tight game?

Think that’s fair, management playing the tippy tappy style for months and then expect us to turn on a new style in weeks. I’d have hope though, our lads are better when not tied to a script. I wouldn’t care who we face, Galway/ Kilkenny should we beat Antrim/ Kerry. We need to test ourselves consistently, still think we need someone to slot into the 5 position too. DC is better suited as a FB I think and maybe Downey can play the 5. Not his favorite side but he’s turning into a beast.

 

[stevetharlear]

Antrim are a good bit better than Kerry and should get the better of them in the JMcD final. IMO this will be good for Cork because they will give us a good test up there. They have a nice mix of big physical lads and nippy skilful forwards and they’ll give us plenty of it. A trip to Kerry would be a cakewalk for us and a waste of time.

After that I wouldn’t be getting ahead of myself with anyone left in the competition. On their day, or on a bad day for us, KK or Wex could beat us handy enough. Galway and Clare would fancy beating us and have real confidence and form at the moment, whereas I’d be worried our confidence could collapse quickly if we came under prolonged pressure in a game. Limerick are Limerick.
I’m delighted we are where we are, first 2 performances were frankly embarrassing, next 2 we did everything we needed to do, and more, against 2 weak outfits (with the benefit of hindsight). Management have made all the right changes and hopefully we’ll grow into the championship with this new lineup and what seems like a change in mentality. Anyone booking hotels for the final is properly mental though.

 

[Thanks]

It’s great to be able to listen to hurling podcasts the last few weeks. Most analysts - quite rightly in my view - reserving their judgement on Cork as Waterford and Tipperary were obviously well below par.
I couldn’t bear to listen to most of the podcasts after our games against Limerick and Clare.

 

[red&blue]

Booked since before the start of the league. Free Cancellation so I’m covered We live in hope

 

[TonyCork80]

We should reserve judgment on Clare and limerick too so because cork were so poor when we played them. The truth of the matter if we apply this logic is nobody has beaten anyone in the Munster championship this year.

Take each game on its merits. Corks intensity and workrate and execution was very good in two of the games and very poor in two others. These are things mainly in our own control. Main thing to think about now is Antrim. Could we lose that? Very unlikely but not impossible. Win it and play the loser of Galway/Kilkenny, is that winnable? On all available evidence yes it could well be. Then play Limerick or Clare could you win that, well we usually beat Clare when we need to but they’d probably start lukewarm favourites, Limerick would start very heavy favourites but could we (or any of the top 6) beat Limerick if we showed up and they misfired or were tripped up. Of course any of the top 6 could in such a circumstance. If it couldn’t ever conceivably go wrong for them John Kiely and all their crew wouldn’t be bursting their bollox every night at training.

Limerick and Clare are the form teams but We’re one of three or four teams with Wexford, Kilkenny and maybe Galway (although they could be closer to Clare) an outside but real chance of winning an All Ireland. Given where we were three weeks ago you’d take that.