Cork looked slick in Wexford but what did fans learn about the championship 15?

IN two games, and a brief cameo in the Waterford game when he knocked over a free, Alan Connolly finished as Cork's top scorer from play in the league.

Two hat-tricks in seven days meant the 22-year-old ended the campaign with 6-4, 5-3 of that from play. None of the other forwards came close to his haul, though Conor Lehane had 0-9 in his four starts and one sub appearance, Brian Hayes hit 1-6 and Jack O'Connor 1-5.

Patrick Horgan was still the top league scorer overall, on 1-32, but 0-30 of that came from frees. 

The Rebels had a decent spread of scorers and by using 32 different starters across five outings, there weren't going to be too many players dominating. 

Even keeper Patrick Collins got in on the act in Wexford, lamping over a monster point aided by the stiff wind.

Wing-back Robert Downey did nail 0-5 from wing-back in recent weeks, with Tommy O'Connell contributing 1-3 and Shane Barrett, who had a roving commission from the forwards, 0-6. Shane Kingston managed 0-7, five of that from play, used largely as an impact sub which will probably be his championship deployment.

When it comes to picking the championship team, you left Wexford on Saturday feeling Pat Ryan and his selectors have honed in on their back six, with O'Connell and Darragh Fitzgibbon the likely midfield duo.

Seán O'Donoghue, Ciarán Joyce, the Downey brothers, Ger Millerick and Damien Cahalane operated at the back last weekend and only Niall O'Leary or a fit-again Mark Coleman could force a change there before the Munster championship opener on April 21. Eoin Roche was impressive as a man-marker in the losses to Clare and Kilkenny but would have to do an awful lot in the A versus B training matches in the coming weeks to make his full debut.

The starting forward unit for Walsh Park is extremely difficult to predict. Connolly is now an automatic, having recovered from the shoulder and hamstring issues that plagued him in recent seasons, but we must remember when Kieran Kingston elevated him to the line-up in 2022, the Rockies tyro hit four championship goals, against Waterford (2), Clare and Tipp.

His haul is now 15 goals across 21 league and championship appearances. Some going.

Horgan's experience and free-taking mean he's likely to occupy the other inside forward berth while Lehane was picked to start in four of the five league games, Harnedy offers the same nous and is a puck-out option. Robbie O'Flynn's injuries mean he'll likely be held in reserve and it's a pity Seán Twomey hasn't been available lately, given his work-rate and aggression were telling in the early league games.

Declan Dalton is another physical presence up top, Hayes has height and athleticism and then there's the speed of Jack O'Connor and Barrett.

No two Cork fans would opt for the same starting 15 at this stage. 

A good complaint? Only championship will tell us that.

CORK LEAGUE SCORERS:

Patrick Horgan 1-32 (0-30 f);

Alan Connolly 6-4 (1-0 pen, 0-1 f);

Conor Lehane 0-9;

Brian Hayes 1-6;

Jack O'Connor 1-5;

Shane Kingston 0-7 (0-2 f);

Declan Dalton 0-7 (0-4 f, 0-2 65);

Tommy O'Connell 1-3;

Shane Barrett 0-6;

Rob Downey 0-5;

Seamus Harnedy 0-4;

Darragh Fitzgibbon 1-1;

Conor O'Callaghan 1-0;

Ciarán Joyce 0-3;

Luke Meade 0-3;

Robbie O'Flynn 0-2;

Brian Roche 0-2;

Seán Twomey 0-1;

Seán O'Donoghue 0-1;

Cormac O'Brien 0-1;

Tim O’Mahony 0-1;

Eoin Downey 0-1;

Ger Millerick 0-1.

Patrick Collins 0-1.