Cork football talking points: Clare loss will test the Rebels' mental strength
Cork selector James Loughrey reacts late in the Clare loss. Picture: INPHO/Natasha Barton
By virtue of the league finish, 12th in the rankings across all the divisions, Cork should be a safe bet for the new All-Ireland round-robin.
There are 16 teams divided into four groups in the new system. It guarantees every county three matches and moving past the bitter disappointment of the display at Cusack Park, those types of games would be ideal for development.
The problem for Cork is places are reserved for provincial finalists as well as last season's Tailteann Cup champions. That means the winners of Clare-Limerick and New York-Sligo will be in the draw alongside Westmeath.
The issue for Cork will arise if two other teams ranked below them in the league reach the finals in Ulster and Leinster deciders. The Rebels could do with Westmeath making the Leinster final over Meath, Offaly and Louth, given they're on the other side of the draw to Dublin. Up north, Cavan could make it, even if Armagh and Donegal would be fancied to get to the last two ahead of them with Down the rank outsiders.
All Cork can do is knuckle down at training and see how the provincial campaigns pan out between now and mid-May. They certainly have plenty of work to do for the next phase of games.
The selectors handed first starts last weekend to Tommy Walsh, Luke Fahy and Chris Óg Jones, so they can't be accused of not changing things up this season. They also had Brian O'Driscoll and Ruairí Deane back in the line-up after being out of favour.
Colm O'Callaghan was the only starter from those panels at the throw-in on Sunday. Minor sensation from four years ago Conor Corbett came off the bench, while Maurice Shanley and Cathail O'Mahony are injured, but it seems a poor return from what were clearly talented young squads.
Brian Hartnett, Damien Gore and Blake Murphy were previously involved; Sean Meehan, an All-Star nominee for shackling David Clifford in 2021, is currently on the bench.
Changing the grades to U17 and U20 does make the progression to senior longer. However, given Cork's malaise in the modern era, they can't afford to let anyone slip through the ranks.
A Munster final appearance would absolutely have been a key target for the Rebels this season. Now that a trip to Killarney is gone, barring an Old Firm meeting in the All-Ireland group section, Cork will have to reset their goals.
They made the old Super 8s in the Ronan McCarthy era but lost to Tyrone, Dublin and Roscommon. Getting a result, if they get in, during the elite phase would be a boost.
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