Premier SHC: Rockies ready to roll but Kanturk will present tough test

Prior to this year, just two clubs had a 100 percent record in qualifying for the knockout stages of the Co-op SuperStores Premier SHC in the four seasons under the new system.

Douglas’s early elimination this time leaves Blackrock as the last team standing in that regard, the city side topping a group featuring Fr O’Neills, Newcestown and St Finbarr’s to set up Saturday’s quarter-final against Kanturk in Fermoy (5.30pm).

The top grade has just one automatic semi-final spot available and such was the firepower on show from defending champions Sarsfields that they were always favourites to take that. However, Blackrock manager Jamie Harrington feels that there are benefits to having to play a quarter-final.

“Once Sars played so well against Douglas, in some ways the number 1 seeding was out of the question – we weren’t even looking at it, to be honest,” he says.

“The four-week gap or the two-week gap – there’s a lot to be said for having a quarter-final. There’s a lot to be said for having a good game before going into the semi-finals rather than coming in cold.

“You really just have to get out of the group. That was our only aim and we got there, so we’ll have to see now how we get on next.”

When the draw was made, Blackrock and their city rivals were seen as the favourites to emerge and a one-point win for the Rockies when they met in the opener seemed to underline that.

However, a win for Fr O’Neills against the Barrs instead sent them through and Harrington certainly was never expecting things to be inevitable.

“No, it wasn’t a given,” he says.

“I’ve said this previously – the Barrs had a tough road, with Cork hurlers and then the Barrs footballers and Castlehaven footballers the week before we played them.

“It was a difficult thing for them to manage and it proved that way in the end.

“From our point of view, we were going one game at a time and we didn’t look beyond that.

“Last year, we lost to Midleton in the last game in the group and never really got back going after that,” he says.

“We were hoping Alan Connolly would be right but then we found out that he wouldn’t.

“We got to a quarter-final but we didn’t perform – there were a lot of things not solid or not concrete. This year, we’re as good as we can be. If we don’t put a performance in, then I’m not sure what else we can do.

“Everything is as good as it can be, as far as I’m concerned.”

As well as Connolly and fellow Cork panellist Robbie Cotter, Blackrock have also benefited from the threat possessed by Fionn Coleman in attack, scoring 1-7 from play across the last two matches.

“Fionn is different,” Harrington says.

“Fionn is a huge man and he has incredible pace. He’s still learning but he did play against Sars in the quarter-final last year and scored four points.

“He’s central to them now, whereas last year he was only coming in. The other side of it is that Michael O’Halloran, such an important player for us for so many years, is in New Zealand at the moment so you need to replace someone like that.”

They will certainly need all of their assets against Kanturk, who finished level on points with Midleton in a group that also contained Charleville and Erin’s Own.

The Duhallow side have gone unbeaten across six championship matches in premier senior hurling and senior A football and Harrington knows that a tough challenge awaits his team.

“If you look down at their teamsheet at who they have, you can see that they’re a serious team,” he says.

“I felt that this breakthrough was coming for a few years from Kanturk. There’s no reason why they can’t be in a semi-final, quarter-final or maybe even a final.

“They have pedigree – they have hurling, they have size, they have athleticism. Obviously, they have a lot of players playing football, which can be tricky, but they’re united and they’re doing a great job!

“We will 100 percent not be under-estimating Kanturk in any way, shape or form.”