Tackling Cork's hurling issues on The Echo Sport Podcast

THE Cork hurlers' season is hanging by a thread after their second Munster Championship loss.

John Horgan and Denis Hurley joined Éamonn Murphy in the studio this week to break down the issues that cost Pat Ryan's side against Clare, from puck-out woes and poor refereeing decisions to missed goal chances and slack defending.

Why are Cork still struggling to get the right structure that prevents their back six from being exposed? Clare's forwards had the freedom of the Páirc on Sunday, Mark Rodgers, Shane O'Donnell and Peter Duggan caused huge damage in the second half.

O'Donnell and David Fitzgerald, who had been well held by Rob Downey until the closing stages, had far too much room to bury their goals. This type of slack defending, which is a collective failure, has been costing Cork games for years.

It didn't help of course that Seán O'Donoghue was dismissed entering the last quarter. John Horgan believes it was a harsh red card but blaming the ref won't solve Cork's problems.

Should there be more changes like promoting Brion Saunderson to number one and bringing Ben Cunningham into the mix? 

Young Midleton keeper Saunderson was only given one run in the league so it would be a huge ask to hand him the number one geansaí instead of Patrick Collins. Cunningham was the marquee U20 forward last year but has been held back by injuries, whether he gets a chance against Limerick or not, Cork will need more of an impact off the bench, as the likes of Robbie O'Flynn and Mark Coleman couldn't get going at all after coming on against Clare.

Is there any scenario where the Rebels make it through to the All-Ireland series?

On this week's episode, the Echo GAA team also take a look at what U20s could step up next season. Diarmuid Healy, William Buckley and Jack Leahy have been the standout forwards in recent weeks for Ben O'Connor's side, while the likes of Micheál Mullins and Shane Kingston from the 2023 crew might add some much-needed bite, with current full-back Kevin Lyons also worth keeping an eye on.

You can find the podcast every week on echolive.ie/podcast and all the main podcast platforms.