Cork team news: Dalton leads the line for hurlers against great rivals Tipperary

PATRICK COLLINS in between the posts for Anthony Nash, the return of Colm Spillane and Alan Cadogan, and a start at full-forward for Deccie Dalton are the main features of the Cork team for an all-important league encounter with Tipperary on Saturday, 7pm.

Team boss Kieran Kingston and his management team have made six changes to the starting team from the one that was defeated in Walsh Park last Sunday by Waterford.

Spillane replaces Niall O’Leary at right corner-back and whilst he featured in the Munster League, it will be his first competitive game since the county final with Imokilly in 2018.

Luke Meade comes into the midfield sector alongside Bill Cooper with Mark Coleman dropping to the bench.

Robbie O’Flynn gets the nod in the half-forward line with Darragh Fitzgibbon going to the bench as well.

In the inside line there is a start for Fr O’Neill’s Deccie Dalton on the edge of the square and he’ll be hoping to bring his superb club form on to the inter-county stage. He replaces Shane Kingston while Alan Cadogan gets his first start of the year too instead of Conor Lehane.

The substitutes bench is notable for the return of Chris Joyce after a protracted absence with a cruciate ligament injury. In selecting the team for the visit of the All-Ireland champions, the management took into account the heavy schedule of the players involved with UCC in the Fitzgibbon Cup.

That means Niall O’Leary, Coleman, Fitzgibbon and Shane Kingston are on the subs bench, though Robert Downey continues at full-back where he did well for Cork in Walsh Park and for UCC in their last two wins.

O’Flynn is also involved with the College but didn’t start against Waterford so gets his chance here in the wake of a three-point haul in the Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-final last Wednesday.

Mark Ellis is a long-term absentee with a leg fracture.

CORK (v Tipperary): P Collins; C Spillane, R Downey, S O’Donoghue; C O’Leary, T O’Mahony, D Cahalane; B Cooper, L Meade; R O’Flynn, S Harnedy, A Walsh; A Cadogan, D Dalton, P Horgan.

Subs: A Nash, N O’Leary, S O’Leary-Hayes, C Joyce, M Coleman, D Fitzgibbon, S Twomey, S Kingston, C Lehane, B Turnbull, M O’Halloran.