Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[red&blue]

We will have to lobby the Taoiseach to get him stationed in Cork
I take the point on the three man full forward line but I would like to explore a position for mark as he is too good a hurler to ignore but we can’t have him in the half back line

If we have to invent a role to get Mark, or anyone else, into the team then he shouldn’t be there

 

[BlueMagic]

We will have to lobby the Taoiseach to get him stationed in Cork
I take the point on the three man full forward line but I would like to explore a position for mark as he is too good a hurler to ignore but we can’t have him in the half back line

Ara, that's part of life. This is only a game at the end of the day as well. Imagine, all the way up in Kildare

Coleman is a baller and will be alright. Whether we win an AI or not won't hinge on him

 

[BlueMagic]

Having a three man full-forward line was integral to Corks successes last year so I doubt they'll revert to the two man version.

Exactly. Imagine, trying to change the one most successful and effective part of how we play

 

[The Highway Man]

That line makes sense with Mark Coleman as a roving corner forward

And so it begins....
Can you sickos just leave the Cowardly Spare man mantra until after Christmas

 

[North Cork]

We were beaten by a point in extra time in an All Ireland final with a team that started the season poorly and kept improving.

There will not be any real change in 2025. We need to eliminate mistakes as much much as possible both on the field and by management and we need to continue finding players that are pushing those ahead of them for a starting place , add in some consistency in performances and we are as good as we can be.

 

[Keeks]

If we have to invent a role to get Mark, or anyone else, into the team then he shouldn’t be there

Spot on

 

[Twiceasnice97]

Coleman should lose his place until he learns to tackle and stops ball watching

if you can stomach watching kellys goal

1 lets fitzgerald walk through him
2 it looks to me like he cant wait to give up chasing and immediately slows the moment fitzgerald fumbles it
3 even so he is perfectly positioned when kelly gets it to hit kelly a belt of a shoulder and stop the whole thing but he has zero interest in that
4 instead of stepping into physical contact he essentially gets out of the way
5 he also makes no effort to hunt after kelly which is why o donoghue has to leave O donnell in a desperate attempt to cut him off making it really easy for kelly to step past him
6 its all over at this stage but even then coleman and downey junior make no effort at all to get back and close down O donnell

 

[Jon Hurling]

Coleman should lose his place until he learns to tackle and stops ball watching

if you can stomach watching kellys goal

1 lets fitzgerald walk through him
2 it looks to me like he cant wait to give up chasing and immediately slows the moment fitzgerald fumbles it
3 even so he is perfectly positioned when kelly gets it to hit kelly a belt of a shoulder and stop the whole thing but he has zero interest in that
4 instead of stepping into physical contact he essentially gets out of the way
5 he also makes no effort to hunt after kelly which is why o donoghue has to leave O donnell in a desperate attempt to cut him off making it really easy for kelly to step past him
6 its all over at this stage but even then coleman and downey junior make no effort at all to get back and close down O donnell

I was sitting right by the pitch when Fitzgerald got the ball and as bad as Coleman's defence was, it was criminal that he was marking Fitzgerald for this play. In fact he wasn't the one marking Fitzgerald before this but Fitzgerald saw the opportunity to win a puck out over Coleman and made his way to left half forward.

I know it happens fast but the Cork players need to think fast and no way should Coleman ever be isolated on the wing against any player who is strong in the air. If it means conceding one short and someone drops back to cover 2 v 1 then so be it. This goal could have been prevented before it happened, and of course should still have been prevented as it happened. At this level you should be absolutely tuned in for everything.

Also, for Rodgers goal, Sean O'D had him hooked but last second decided to go for a block. Ultimately they were two soft goals that looked like great goals for Clare.

 

[Jon Hurling]

I was sitting right by the pitch when Fitzgerald got the ball and as bad as Coleman's defence was, it was criminal that he was marking Fitzgerald for this play. In fact he wasn't the one marking Fitzgerald before this but Fitzgerald saw the opportunity to win a puck out over Coleman and made his way to left half forward.

I know it happens fast but the Cork players need to think fast and no way should Coleman ever be isolated on the wing against any player who is strong in the air. If it means conceding one short and someone drops back to cover 2 v 1 then so be it. This goal could have been prevented before it happened, and of course should still have been prevented as it happened. At this level you should be absolutely tuned in for everything.

Also, for Rodgers goal, Sean O'D had him hooked but last second decided to go for a block. Ultimately they were two soft goals that looked like great goals for Clare.

And one last thing, Rob Downey ran half the field to score a goal, and Kyle Hayes gave away a silly penalty v Cork in the round robin v Cork. Both very bad defending too. Ultimately that's just hurling and why it's so great.

 

[North Cork Star]

There is no denying it, the defending for the Tony Kelly goal was shocking and a goal opportunity should never have come of it with all of our numbers back. It has to be one of the main things Pat Ryan and Co. should be focusing on this coming year.

If you look at the scores we conceded in the championship, it is still way too high. We can't win every shootout, as seen in the All Ireland final especially when our forwards weren't going well.

We conceded the following in 2024:

2-25 (31) v Waterford
3-26 (35) v Clare
3-26 (35) v Limerick
1-21 (24) v Tipp (better but Tipp were woeful and gave up after 40 mins)
3-19 (28) v Offaly
0-21 (21) v Dublin (more like it)
0-29 (29) v Limerick
3-29 (38) v Clare

Our average score conceded per game was 2-25 (31).

Limerick's average score conceded over 6 games was 1-21 (24).

Clare's average score conceded over 7 games was 2-23 (29).

Remember we put huge scores against Limerick twice and Clare twice so scoring isn't an issue.

But if we could work on the finer details of our defending, I.e. positioning, tackling, stopping runs, slowing the game down, cynicism, winning the breakdown, workrate in all parts of the pitch, dealing with puckouts etc., and bring our average score conceded to even 28 (ideally 25 or below), it would make a huge difference. Fine margins but it could be the difference.