John Horgan on hurling: Cork now in strong position to push for league final place

The pause button was pressed on the National Hurling League last weekend, it was a time for a review and to reset before activities resume again next Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

There is no doubt, the current format in both the two top divisions provided plenty of talking points thus far and there's likely to be many more between now and the finals which are pencilled in for the first weekend of April.

With the two semi-finals having been dispensed with, it will be the top two counties in each contesting the finals with the bottom two being relegated.

The decision to dispense with the semi-finals made plenty of sense given the narrowing of the season and the close proximity between the secondary competition and the commencement of the championship.

In the past, there might not have been a great deal of difference between 1A and 1B but with promotion and relegation now a more significant issue, counties don't want to lose their top-flight status because there can be serious financial implications involved.

Attendances in 1B are well below what they are in 1A and that was evident two weeks ago when only just over 1,700 attended the Waterford, Laois encounter at Walsh Park.

The attraction of competing in the top division is far greater, the public interest is too and whether or not a team sets out to try and win the league, they certainly don't want to be relegated, most of all the county boards of those counties, Cork certainly being one of those given their financial plight.

Unless there is a dramatic upturn in fortunes, Wexford have to be considered near relegation certainties from 1A after their three losses to date but there is still time to extricate themselves from the very tricky situation that they find themselves in.

CHOPPY

Their game with Clare next Sunday now carries huge significance with the Banner also sailing in choppy waters after losing their opening two games.

What is most relevant now with the new league format is that jeopardy has returned and the margin for error has been minimised to a far greater extent.

No county in Division 1A has a 100/% record after the opening weeks of the campaign and as things currently stand it's very tight at the top which makes it all the more difficult to predict how it might all pan out.

Cork will be happy enough with their lot, three points from their two openers putting them right into the mix.

Of course, the nature of the league every season always steers one away from making any wild predictions about who will end up with the trophy.

However, on the evidence presented up to now, it would appear that Limerick are very much on a mission of atonement this season and the injection of new blood adds to that belief.

Every county is in experimental mode, some more than others but the newcomers into the Limerick set-up have looked very impressive and that caught our eye against Cork and Tipperary.

From a Cork perspective, the loss through injury of Blarney's Padraig Power was a big blow because it looked like he was very much in the mix for a start later in the year.

Pat Ryan has numerous attacking options at his disposal and he certainly had to be in the conversation and his 1-4 return from play against Wexford added substance to that line of thought.

Things will become that bit clearer after the three games next weekend, Cork against Tipperary, Clare against Wexford and Limerick against Kilkenny.

Galway are outside the fence this time but after their opening-day disaster against Tipperary, they reinvented themselves against Clare and Kilkenny and in those two games, they certainly looked more purposeful.

It's very early yet but the perception is that under returning boss Micheál O'Donoghue they will be a more formidable outfit than they have been for the past few campaigns. And in Anthony Burns, they have a forward that might add a lot more to their attacking prowess and against Clare his haul of 2-3 from play was impressive.

The standout game this weekend is a bit of a toss-up, Tipperary against Cork or Kilkenny against Limerick.

Kilkenny are motoring along nicely without really catching fire and in their victories over Wexford and Clare they had some of their bigger guns on the sideline and in the stand, players of the calibre of Eoin Murphy, the Reids, TJ and Richie, and Adrian Mullen among others.

From one year to the next, you can never take Kilkenny lightly and despite the fact that they are now without the McCarthy Cup for 10 years, one has the feeling that they will be very much in the championship equation again in a few months.

Of course, here on Leeside, the main focus for now is on what transpires in Division 1A but in this quarter we like to keep an eye on things on what's happening elsewhere.

Division 1B does not feature as prominently on the GAA pages on Monday morning but the upward trajectory that Offaly hurling is on continues and we had a look at them last Sunday week against Antrim.

And nearing the end of that game, Antrim boss, Davy Fitzgerald did not look too happy on the sideline as he watched his team get a fair aul trouncing.

LEASE OF LIFE

Hurling in the Faithful County has taken on a new lease of life under the direction of former chair and former great, Michael Duignan and their success at U20 level is the springboard to the county's upturn in fortunes and they seem set to continue on the redemption road.

Duignan's son, Brian, Dan Ravenhill, Killian Sampson, Charlie Mitchell among others are leading the charge and that wonderful young gun, Adam Screeney has not featured yet because of injury.

One can be sure that in Leinster this season, Offaly and Carlow too won't be taken lightly.

Hurling in general is desperate to have those counties making a greater impact and being more competitive to the point that it cannot be taken as granted anymore that Kilkenny, Wexford, Galway and Dublin will be battling it out for the three places that will carry them into the All-Ireland series.

The hurling gospel it would appear is being spread to a far greater extent and the game is crying out for that to be the case.

It's been static for too long.

The Offallys and Carlows of this world won't be winning major trophies any time soon but if their current progress continues this great game of ours will be enhanced all the more