John Horgan on hurling: Cork need to focus on Offaly to avoid relegation in new league

THE hurling counties have another weekend away from the playing fields which gives the various management teams a further opportunity to analyse the opening three games in the national league and to work on some of the things that they might not have been happy with before they face into the final two group games which will decide their fate for next season.

Where a lot of the counties are concerned, the league up to this point has been a bit of a mixed bag, good, bad and indifferent as they strive for a place at the top table of the competition in 2025.

Cork are one of those counties, putting together very good spells in their opening three games but undoing a lot of that fine work by not being consistent enough over the entire course of the game.

Last Sunday against a fairly depleted Waterford team a lot of that good work was seen as they constructed a 10-point advantage which seemingly had them coasting towards the finishing line.

However, as the contest entered its dying embers the last whistle of referee James Owens could not come quickly enough for them after Davy Fitzgerald's side had mounted an impressive comeback that saw them reduce the substantial advantage that Cork had held down to just two points before time was called.

This time it was a case of Cork letting a big lead slip away while in the previous two encounters against Clare and Kilkenny, it was the opposite, allowing their opponents gain a significant foothold before they got themselves back into those games.

But that can happen at this juncture in the year when teams are minus key players for various reasons and a lot of work is still being put in on the training ground in preparation for the big championship assignments.

In Cork's three league outings there have been fadeouts in all three, long periods when the tempo is not what it should be. That's one issue to be addressed before the road to Tullamore is taken next Sunday week.

The two-week break between games will benefit injured players and those returning from injury and Cork have had plenty of them. 

That situation, of course, applies in all counties.

As regards qualification for next season's elite group, Cork are still in a fairly precarious position and the maximum return will likely be required from the jousts with Offaly and Wexford.

Some might look upon the Offaly game as a foregone conclusion but as the Faithful County exhibited against Kilkenny when they led by a half dozen points at the interval, they are an ever-improving team and on home turf, Cork might be advised not to take them lightly.

INVEST

Offaly won't be in the top group next season but right now where they are concerned it's all about building towards a better future and from the outside looking in it appears that things are moving in a more positive direction.

The form shown by Jack O'Connor against Waterford must have delighted Pat Ryan and his scorching run which ended in a green flag being raised in the second half was, as things transpired, a game-defining moment.

Having a fully fit O'Connor and maintaining the form of last Sunday when his electrifying pace was so evident for that goal will be a big plus for the management. 

The confidence levels of Brian Hayes will have risen too after his three-point haul last Sunday.

The way things are starting to pan out there is going to be huge competition for starting places in the Cork attack come the opening championship game against last Sunday's opponents.

Right now there are nine or 10 candidates for the six places, maybe one or two more and it might be said that nobody is a nailed-on certainty to start.

Time is moving on now, the countdown is intensifying towards the championship start and it's all to play for the numbers between 10 and 15.

Limerick will be arriving on Leeside for one of those championship encounters and one had to be impressed with the manner in how they dismantled Dublin in Croke Park. Accepting that the Dubs are well down the list of honours contenders, this was still a Limerick victory that will have been discussed in many quarters.

Quite a few of the establishment were making their first appearance of the campaign and a few more haven't appeared yet.

The big talking point in the aftermath of their drubbing of the Dubs was the very impressive showing of Cathal O'Neill at centre-back. With Declan Hannon still marked absent through injury, O'Neill certainly threw himself into the mix as a replacement in that pivotal position.

DEPTH

This Limerick team have put league titles alongside their All-Ireland wins in recent years and maybe they are on their way to doing so again. John Kiely has used 32 players in their three games to date and there's been no Cian Lynch, Aaron Gillane and Peter Casey.

Donnacha Ó Dálaigh continues to impress in attack and if anything the panel seems to be getting stronger. Their remaining two group games against Tipperary and Galway are likely to be much stiffer tests than they have encountered up to now but it's looking ominous for the rest even at this very early stage.

Limerick against Tipperary, the only other team from the two groups that have maximum points from their three outings, in the Gaelic Grounds next Saturday week should be a game that will tell us more about two of our championship opponents.

Tipp have been moving along nicely but this is almost certainly going to be a more searching examination of their credentials.

Clare, of course, are unbeaten too, two wins and a fine draw in Wexford Park have to be pleasing for Brian Lohan while Davy Fitz has reason to be half-satisfied with how things are panning out with his Waterford squad.

He is without a large chunk of what is likely to be his championship 15 and if they are back in the frame in the next few weeks no opponent will be taking them for granted for the big championship throw-in.

Yes, it's all starting to boil a bit for all the counties and gathering momentum is the priority now.