Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[jimmycooper]

I think the age thing was complete rubbish with Hoggy. He performed better than Hayes and Connolly alot of the time.

 

[KolaKubes]

I think the age thing was complete rubbish with Hoggy. He performed better than Hayes and Connolly alot of the time.

This year?

Definitely not. Hayes was hurler of the year for me. Connolly fair enough but I think any two of them would have looked better up there.

 

[North Cork]

Dalton wouldn’t be questioned in any other county. Some of the lads seriously being suggested and we’d drop one of our few genuine intercounty forwards, able to field ball, hold off a marker, hook and block, score from distance.

I do suspect he’s one of the lads that nerves get to and wouldn’t blame him with people putting the boot in on the guy. But the same standards were applied to other stars.

Sometimes a player is put into a position for the good of the team rather than being put into a position that may suit him best. Declan Dalton is imo played at wing forward for his strength and ball winning ability. By that I mean that even if he isn't winning clear possession, generally speaking neither is his marker.
I think at the very highest level when the ground is hard and hurling at it's fastest I think he lacks a yard of pace for the half forward line.
I think that he would provide a huge threat at full forward whereas Alan Connolly may be more dangerous with more space to play in because he is also a decent ball winner but is very very pacy.

I think that Hayes, Barrett , Harnedy, Connolly and Healy will all be hard to shift off the team next year. Unlike some on here I do really rate Alan Connolly highly and I think with a bit more freedom on the pitch he can be a huge player for us. Harnedy may not start every game , but maybe he will depending on form and fitness. Either way it is a difficult team to break into.


I notice one poster in particular constantly refer to the two points scored in the second half of the All Ireland final and I think it must be the only game he watched all season as anyone watching Cork this season will realise and accept this is a potent forward line that had an absolute nightmare against Tipp in spite of beating them comfortably twice before. The challenge for BOC is to make sure these collapses stop happening, we saw it earlier against Limerick as well . I thought the point made by Ciaran Carey was valid when he mentioned the lack of leadership on the team.

 

[KolaKubes]

Sometimes a player is put into a position for the good of the team rather than being put into a position that may suit him best. Declan Dalton is imo played at wing forward for his strength and ball winning ability. By that I mean that even if he isn't winning clear possession, generally speaking neither is his marker.
I think at the very highest level when the ground is hard and hurling at it's fastest I think he lacks a yard of pace for the half forward line.
I think that he would provide a huge threat at full forward whereas Alan Connolly may be more dangerous with more space to play in because he is also a decent ball winner but is very very pacy.

I think that Hayes, Barrett , Harnedy, Connolly and Healy will all be hard to shift off the team next year. Unlike some on here I do really rate Alan Connolly highly and I think with a bit more freedom on the pitch he can be a huge player for us. Harnedy may not start every game , but maybe he will depending on form and fitness. Either way it is a difficult team to break into.


I notice one poster in particular constantly refer to the two points scored in the second half of the All Ireland final and I think it must be the only game he watched all season as anyone watching Cork this season will realise and accept this is a potent forward line that had an absolute nightmare against Tipp in spite of beating them comfortably twice before. The challenge for BOC is to make sure these collapses stop happening, we saw it earlier against Limerick as well . I thought the point made by Ciaran Carey was valid when he mentioned the lack of leadership on the team.

Good post.

There’s no point talking about the forwards being fundamentally shit. In the first half they had 1-16.

We all felt nervous after the first half but that’s enough scoring to win any All Ireland.

I didn’t see anything in that first half that resembled the collapse before the red card. We weren’t purring and blowing them away but I don’t think Tipp upped their game so much as Cork couldn’t do anything at all right and that’s psychological as much as tactical.

There seems more resistance to that than makes sense, the data fits it. Maybe Tipp went up to have a cut off it remembering it’s sport whereas Cork have half a million people leaning over them ramping up the stress.

 

[Corkonian1]

"Dalton doesn't have a sharp turn and he's not dominant in the air for a big man, he relies on breaking ball or others creating movement"

If you believe all this to be true about any player (not just Dalton), then need to consider if he needs to be moved on. We've suffered enough by carrying too many forwards in the last 20 years who need the ball given to them...

N.B. Not having a pop off Hoggy - man was a genius and an outlier.

I was referring to Corkfan82 suggesting playing Deccie full-forward, for the No. 14 position you need at least one of those attributes. I don't think Dalton's power and finishing are enough qualities on their own for the position and believes he needs more space. However I could be wrong and he maybe still worth looking at there with Hayes, Power or Connolly. Let's face it over those years the only forwards who could win ball consistently in the air were Pa Cronin and Seamus Harnedy and I believe both would be caught on their feet for playing at 14.

 

[Corkfan82]

Dalton wouldn’t be questioned in any other county. Some of the lads seriously being suggested and we’d drop one of our few genuine intercounty forwards, able to field ball, hold off a marker, hook and block, score from distance.

I do suspect he’s one of the lads that nerves get to and wouldn’t blame him with people putting the boot in on the guy. But the same standards were applied to other stars.

Agree - I'm a fan, Dalton didnt play well in the final but who did for Cork. He did get a belt in the final which probably affected him.

He played in the Full Forward line against Clare in the league last year I think and did well so he is an option there.

Dalton at wing forward could easily switch with Hayes or Connolly going wing forward during games depending on markers.

 

[Killyoursons]

Dalton wouldn’t be questioned in any other county. Some of the lads seriously being suggested and we’d drop one of our few genuine intercounty forwards, able to field ball, hold off a marker, hook and block, score from distance.

I do suspect he’s one of the lads that nerves get to and wouldn’t blame him with people putting the boot in on the guy. But the same standards were applied to other stars.

I half agree. Dalton brings a lot to the team in terms of workrate, physical presence, and scoring - when he's on his game. The problem is that when he's off he can be v flat (a bit like O'Mahony in that respect). There were few enough games last season where he really stood out.

I wouldn't hold the lack of pace against him, but he does seem to fade out of games in the second half. And he's not great at winning contested ball in the air. I wouldn't be calling for him to be dropped, but if (a big if) a couple of other options emerge at HF it might happen. I could also see him switched inside to 14 during games, but I am not sure about him starting there, for the reason Corkonian outlined.

 

[Henrys Fonda]

I think that Hayes, Barrett , Harnedy, Connolly and Healy will all be hard to shift off the team next year.

Add Hugh OConnor into that as well, he didn’t leave the football panel to ride the bench.

 

[St fachtna]

Good post.

There’s no point talking about the forwards being fundamentally shit. In the first half they had 1-16.

We all felt nervous after the first half but that’s enough scoring to win any All Ireland.

I didn’t see anything in that first half that resembled the collapse before the red card. We weren’t purring and blowing them away but I don’t think Tipp upped their game so much as Cork couldn’t do anything at all right and that’s psychological as much as tactical.

There seems more resistance to that than makes sense, the data fits it. Maybe Tipp went up to have a cut off it remembering it’s sport whereas Cork have half a million people leaning over them ramping up the stress.

The back line is the big problem for cork were pissing scores there in the last 2 finals and generally over the last few years . I think Ben is going to look at stoppers first in defence and build team from there up

 

[Crusty Ring]

The back line is the big problem for cork were pissing scores there in the last 2 finals and generally over the last few years . I think Ben is going to look at stoppers first in defence and build team from there up

Completely agree with this, need to get back to basics and employ defenders who’s main focus is shutting down the oppositions main threats.

Personally I think Fitz going to centre forward and Mark Coleman going midfield with Tim should be looked at, Twomey and Tommy O Connell available for cover.

Joyce Rob Downey COB at halfback, also need cover at full back I like Eoin Downey a lot but he didn’t have the greatest year this year but I would fancy him to bounce back still a young lad and has learned a lot in the past 2 years, Mullins, Millerick and Damo available for cover but I think we need to develop some competition at full back if Moloney from Midelton got over his injury in time do people think he could get to IC level?