Future Cork Hurlers

[Corkonian1]

Killyoursons

It is obvious I haven't ignored your point regarding his age but I don't believe a hurler cannot improve from the age of 24. I would give him the opportunity now and if you disagree that's fine but stating he should have been brought into the senior squad in 2018 when he was 18 but not at the age of 24 makes no sense.

I only stated you should back O'Brien when you stated he was worth a shot which your take is contradictory to say the least. I accept your comparison with Sean Twomey but think it's unfair to refer to Twomey in one championship start v Waterford. Twomey was outstanding v KK in the league but got injured. I don't believe he was match fit v Waterford but that wasn't the only fault of the management that day. However I believe Colin O'Brien has a few more strings to his bow than Twomey and he is also very good from frees and sidelines.

The 'excellent candidates' you refer will most likely be extended panel members who receive little game time and will find themselves in the situation Micheal Mullins and Ben Cunningham did this year having no impact. They were all on the squad list in AI final match programme despite Cunningham, Eoin Roche, Brian Roche, Eoin Carey and even Conor Cahalane all out injured for a lengthy period leading up to the final. Bringing Conor Cahalane back into the subs and adding Mullins and Cunningham without playing them wont improve anything. There has to be some clear out for better players to come in with less repetition and more hunger & cut 'n' thrust. The bench is more of the same too much with Kingston, O'Connor and O'Flynn and Shane O'Regan performed better than all 3 of them last week. The right side of the Cork attack are mainly marksmen, Coleman isn't a good enough defender, Cork need at least one top corner-back and Sean O'Donoghues leadership has been poor so his captaincy is questionable.

 

[TheRebelRoar]

I would say that while his performances in the Fitzgibbon are one of the reasons I think he should be looked at, those matches are played in the winter on heavy pitches, so his holding his own there does not give me much confidence that his hurling would be of the speed required come May.

It's funny how people see games differently, I watched 3 of MaryI games this year and didn't think him as next or near the IC panel. Slow and cumbersome.

 

[Gregory_Mike]

Sean O'Donoghues leadership has been poor so his captaincy is questionable.

Is it? I don't think he had his best year but why is his captaincy questionable?

 

[Killyoursons]

It's funny how people see games differently, I watched 3 of MaryI games this year and didn't think him as next or near the IC panel. Slow and cumbersome.

I was thinking more of his leadership (which goes back to 2018) and his willingness to work hard in physical games. In terms of players who don't have senior intercounty experience, I would have thought those would be two key factors, along with sharpness of hurling. It's this last one which I fear might catch O'Brien.

 

[Killyoursons]

Killyoursons

It is obvious I haven't ignored your point regarding his age but I don't believe a hurler cannot improve from the age of 24. I would give him the opportunity now and if you disagree that's fine but stating he should have been brought into the senior squad in 2018 when he was 18 but not at the age of 24 makes no sense.

I only stated you should back O'Brien when you stated he was worth a shot which your take is contradictory to say the least. I accept your comparison with Sean Twomey but think it's unfair to refer to Twomey in one championship start v Waterford. Twomey was outstanding v KK in the league but got injured. I don't believe he was match fit v Waterford but that wasn't the only fault of the management that day. However I believe Colin O'Brien has a few more strings to his bow than Twomey and he is also very good from frees and sidelines.

The 'excellent candidates' you refer will most likely be extended panel members who receive little game time and will find themselves in the situation Micheal Mullins and Ben Cunningham did this year having no impact. They were all on the squad list in AI final match programme despite Cunningham, Eoin Roche, Brian Roche, Eoin Carey and even Conor Cahalane all out injured for a lengthy period leading up to the final. Bringing Conor Cahalane back into the subs and adding Mullins and Cunningham without playing them wont improve anything. There has to be some clear out for better players to come in with less repetition and more hunger & cut 'n' thrust. The bench is more of the same too much with Kingston, O'Connor and O'Flynn and Shane O'Regan performed better than all 3 of them last week. The right side of the Cork attack are mainly marksmen, Coleman isn't a good enough defender, Cork need at least one top corner-back and Sean O'Donoghues leadership has been poor so his captaincy is questionable.

I never said a player cannot improve their hurling at 24 or 25. What I said is that it's difficult to do so to the extent I think O'Brien would need to, as evidenced by the relatively small number of players who have managed in recent years to come into the reckoning at senior level that far into their careers. The examples you listed in an earlier post are mostly from around a decade ago, when Cork's underage development was still a mess, and v few of those players made any impact at senior level.

I advocated O'Brien be brought on board back in 2018 as there was an opportunity there to work with him as a medium-term project, i.e., sharpening his hurling and decision-making over a few years. Back then Cork were desperately short of physically imposing forwards, so there would have been a big benefit in getting him up to speed by the age of say 22 or 23. Something like that could still happen - what I'm saying is that it is now harder, and I could understand if the management team decided to look elsewhere.

Twomey was excellent Vs KK, but that was a league match played at typical league pace. He did not only have a poor performance Vs Waterford, he also came on in at least one subsequent match and was well off the pace there as well. I would have liked to have seen him get a run-out Vs Offaly to see if he could have put in a shift and built his confidence, but unfortunately on the available evidence there have to be major doubts as to whether his hurling is up to championship pace.

Mullins and Cunningham both picked up injuries which limited their gane-time in the league and consequently reduced their chances of breaking into the championship panel. So I would be slow to generalise from their experience this year to how the likes of, say, Healy would fare next year. Plus you are overlooking the longer-term benefit of bringing in v talented younger players, in terms of getting them used to the rigors of senior hurling, providing then with top-level coaching, S&C etc. Say four or five players from last year's U20s come into the extended panel - it might well be that one or even none break onto next year's championship panel, but you are also putting them in a better position to break through the year after.

Lastly, you seem v taken with O'Regan's performance last week. As I said previously, if O'Regan continues to perform well throughout the club championship then he should come into the reckoning. But talking him up on the basis of a single match against frankly outclassed opponents is imo a bit silly.

 

[leeside_rebel]

Is it? I don't think he had his best year but why is his captaincy questionable?

Spot on. He's been a very popular capt among the group, the other players have massive time for him. Not a man for the media or that but excellent behind the scenes by all accounts. Would expect that he remains capt for '25

 

[Gymbird]

There Definitely up there with Michael Mullins and jack O’Connor

 

[Corkonian1]

Gregory_Mike

You don't think the captaincy is performance related, fair enough! The bread and butter of defending is too often missing from his game similar to Mark Coleman. Eye not on the ball and too slow to mentally react for Conor Whelan's goal in 2022. Gives away too many frees and physically doesn't always apply himself properly and misreads situations like the Tony Kelly goal in the AI final, he made too much of a run across Kelly and wasn't goal side enough and therefore made no body contact like use of the shoulder or blocking for such a physical guy.

Killyoursons

If it's 'difficult to do so' as you state then give Colin game time in the league and ensure he plays in late March/early April to come up to speed which Fitzgibbon Cup & early league games don't give, then we will all have an idea but regarding championship he couldn't be any worse than many of those who played v Waterford this year. When Cork won the 2020 U-20 AI Colin performed better than Sean Twomey, his winning of posession in the air and his solos and scores from play particularly v Tipp not to mind his sideline cuts. He was also good v Dublin in the final played in the summer of '21 until the management wrongly moved him to full-forward before taking him off. Referring to injuries of Mullins and Cunningham is fine but Sean Twomey's injury in the league has to be taken into account and I don't believe he was match fit v Waterford. I agree he should have been played v Offaly. Also I don't know of any county running mid-term project's for 18 year olds relating to their senior team, they go to the U-20 squad if they're up to it like David O'Leary, Johnny Galvin, Barry Walsh and Barry O'Flynn among others did this year and otherwise they wait until their 19 or 20 and try to make the squad. I believe it doesnt make any sense but as a proposed first for Cork who else would you have on it besides O'Brien?

I don't know why so many on here doubt Micheal Mullins, I wouldn't be comparing him to Cunningham, Healy etc., he is a stronger all round hurler than all of those, he was the best Cork player in last years U-20 championship and he was a captain who led by example. His great runs and goals scored from deep were tremendous, too many players today running in possession with no end product. He will be 22 next year and his senior inter-county career has to be given pedal to the metal as far as I'm concerned.

Not talking up Shane O'Regan on one match at all, he stood out for Cork U-20's already on a team that didn't win AI's prior to 2020. I understand he lost his place down to discipline and fitness reasons and then going through a transfer debacle doesn't help, he hadn't worked near hard enough on his fitness for Sars last year but has this year and reaped the awards in their league campaign win and their 1st round championship game. Of course his performances in the rest of the championship is key for him to be included in the Cork training panel but the thread is about who should be looked at or considered in the opinions of those posting on here.

 

[iluvhurling]

The Cork Senior Hurling Panel For The National League has been announced – Cork GAA

gaacork.ie

There's the training panel at the start of this year's league.

Imo there's room for 8 newbies to replace 8 of these lads. Pat Ryan needs to further freshen up his panel so lets hope he does so.

 

[Corkonian1]

The Cork Senior Hurling Panel For The National League has been announced – Cork GAA

gaacork.ie

There's the training panel at the start of this year's league.

Imo there's room for 8 newbies to replace 8 of these lads. Pat Ryan needs to further freshen up his panel so lets hope he does so.

Good post, I would say there's at least 6 but it could be as many as 8. There are a good few dead rubber guys who are good enough but haven't got the finger out as they say and then it could easily be even more than 8.