Cork Hurlers - Part 2

[TheRightHandofRing]

Kk were year 1 of a rookie manager, they will improve.

Why would having a rookie manager mean they will improve? They could just as easily disimprove, particularly with an ageing TJ Reid and Walter Walsh.

Gearoid O’Connor has done a lot more than AC or ROF in the last 12 mts to suggest a break into elite forward bracket of Whelan, Cody and co. He is a serious weapon & deadly free-taker. Agree on CB , we have a gem.. and they’re struggling a bit there. Conor Bowe looks excellent at wing back though. Not sure how you can’t be impressed with Clare - they’ve a really balanced look about them and O’Donnell and Rogers are going to cause a lot of problems. Excellent at midfield also in fairness. We have improved definitely but I think you could easily argue that Limerick, KK, Clare, Tipp, Galway are going the same direction also.

Gearoid O'Connor is a fantastic talent no doubt and he is one of the reasons I mentioned that Tipp can improve on last year. To be fair to AC, he can only play the games he was played in and he was excellent in both.

O'Donnell and Rogers will cause problems but are they going to cause any more problems than they have in previous years?

What have Clare done that is so impressive? They have had a decent league so far and in previous championships they have frequently fallen short in the big games.

 

[TheRightHandofRing]

Cork played Clare in Ennis last year and unluckily lost by a point.
I think most people were surprised when the team was announced that both Conor Lehane and Conor Cahalane were starting.
I think we were all even more surprised that Tommy O Connell was left on Tony Kelly until well into the second half.
Clare did get out of Munster but did not particularly impress after that. Clare seem to keep their best performances for playing Limerick.

There will be no easy game in Munster for any team but I think that Cork ,playing well, have enough to beat Clare, I think home advantage helps, it certainly helps Clare enormously.

Team selection cost us that game

 

[shanks]

Major hard on from the Cork lads to beat Clare this year cos they wouldn't travel down to our stadium ,,

 

[The long road]

Cork played Clare in Ennis last year and unluckily lost by a point.
I think most people were surprised when the team was announced that both Conor Lehane and Conor Cahalane were starting.
I think we were all even more surprised that Tommy O Connell was left on Tony Kelly until well into the second half.
Clare did get out of Munster but did not particularly impress after that. Clare seem to keep their best performances for playing Limerick.

There will be no easy game in Munster for any team but I think that Cork ,playing well, have enough to beat Clare, I think home advantage helps, it certainly helps Clare enormously.

If you recall last year which was a strange anomaly a limerick referee was in charge of a game which directly influenced limericks involvement That can't have been right

 

[morello]

Why would having a rookie manager mean they will improve? They could just as easily disimprove, particularly with an ageing TJ Reid and Walter Walsh.

Lyng will have a better handle on things with the experience of last year you would think e.g. He made a balls of a ten minute period in the AI final where they were a man down in the full back line. They didn’t really rely on TJ last year bar frees, (don’t know how he got an All Star ), prob be the same this year. They haven’t been starting Walter for 2 years now. On paper they haven’t looked great for years but they have a mad knack of making finals all the same (last years league & all Ireland). Murphy, Butler, Lawlor, Cody are players other teams would kill for.

Gearoid O'Connor is a fantastic talent no doubt and he is one of the reasons I mentioned that Tipp can improve on last year. To be fair to AC, he can only play the games he was played in and he was excellent in both.

O'Donnell and Rogers will cause problems but are they going to cause any more problems than they have in previous years?

What have Clare done that is so impressive? They have had a decent league so far and in previous championships they have frequently fallen short in the big games.

Clare are the highest aggregate points scoring team in the Munster round robin since its inception and have become a very settled and physical side. They were rubbish in the ‘22 semi final but they were the better team last year and unlucky not to get over the line. They were poor in the full back line but hogan and Cleary have fixed that problem a fair bit. They’re probably the last team I’d bet against getting out of Munster.

Can Cork beat Clare & KK? Of course. And could we mount a better challenge for the AI that those 2 ? I could see it.

Ultimately there’s one main reason I think both of these teams are a small bit ahead of the others: They will consistently deliver that rabid intensity (tackling, swarming etc) all over the pitch for all championship games as per Limerick. Ourselves and some of the others do that sometimes but not all the time (yet!)

I hate both of them I should add

 

[Banofie Magpie]

Major hard on from the Cork lads to beat Clare this year cos they wouldn't travel down to our stadium ,,

You like men in shorts is it?
Just kidding thinking of Brendan Grace in Fr Ted. Brilliant line ..

 

[Banofie Magpie]

Lyng will have a better handle on things with the experience of last year you would think e.g. He made a balls of a ten minute period in the AI final where they were a man down in the full back line. They didn’t really rely on TJ last year bar frees, (don’t know how he got an All Star ), prob be the same this year. They haven’t been starting Walter for 2 years now. On paper they haven’t looked great for years but they have a mad knack of making finals all the same (last years league & all Ireland). Murphy, Butler, Lawlor, Cody are players other teams would kill for.

Clare are the highest aggregate points scoring team in the Munster round robin since its inception and have become a very settled and physical side. They were rubbish in the ‘22 semi final but they were the better team last year and unlucky not to get over the line. They were poor in the full back line but hogan and Cleary have fixed that problem a fair bit. They’re probably the last team I’d bet against getting out of Munster.

Can Cork beat Clare & KK? Of course. And could we mount a better challenge for the AI that those 2 ? I could see it.

Ultimately there’s one main reason I think both of these teams are a small bit ahead of the others: They will consistently deliver that rabid intensity (tackling, swarming etc) all over the pitch for all championship games as per Limerick. Ourselves and some of the others do that sometimes but not all the time (yet!)

I hate both of them I should add

Just my two pence worth.
Hurling right now is all very beige. Limerick step above that parapet when they get out of Munster.
As for the rest Tipp, Cork, Clare, Galway, KK they are all currently average or below par teams for their respective counties, all capable of beating each other on any given day. Limericks dominance hasn’t helped and the round robin nature of championship facilitates their ongoing dominance.
However, There is a good opportunity for Cork to push ahead of the chasing pack this year. We still don’t have enough of the quality hurlers and ball winners to become a great team but I hope we can show signs this year that it’s on the way.

 

[Vladimir The Bear]

I'm not buying into this train of thought that we will beat Clare because the game is on down the Pairc.

Clare play Limerick in their 1st game. Limerick will be favourites for that. If Limerick win, which is likely, then Clare come to Cork 7 days later fighting for their championship survival. Lose to us and there is a big chance they don't survive Munster.

Munster championship is box office.

 

[red&blue]

I'm not buying into this train of thought that we will beat Clare because the game is on down the Pairc.

Clare play Limerick in their 1st game. Limerick will be favourites for that. If Limerick win, which is likely, then Clare come to Cork 7 days later fighting for their championship survival. Lose to us and there is a big chance they don't survive Munster.

Munster championship is box office.

I’m with you on this Vlad, Clare are a much more settled side than us and they are the one team to consistently put it up to Limerick in the last few years.

How the first round Munster games go will be fascinating and will decide the mentality for the second round a week later.

If we win in Waterford I think we will grow in confidence but if we lose in Waterford there will be serious pressure on us to get a win. Will we handle that?

I think Clare’s biggest issue will be recovering physically and mentally from the Limerick game but they will either be cock a hoop from beating them or deflated from losing.

I can’t wait for the whole thing to start!

 

[imigrant]

There are going to be draws this year and they will have significant bearing . The 1 point for a draw and 2 for a win makes things harder to predict than if it was 1 and 3.