Cork hurlers need a few fresh faces to take down Waterford

When Cork lost their opening-round clash with Waterford last year, Pat Ryan’s reaction was swift and decisive.

The template team that emerged from the League was thrown out. Places were put up for grabs. Players seized their chance, and a new line-up emerged.

When the selection meetings were concluded by the middle of that week, nine players remained. 

Six were changed. Niall O’Leary, Eoin Downey, Tim O’Mahony, Declan Dalton, and Brian Hayes have been part of the furniture ever since. 

Barring injury, so too has Ethan Twomey. Of the six who dropped out, only Mark Coleman and Conor Lehane, against Offaly, have started a championship game since.

That day, Cork lost by three points. Last Sunday, they lost by 16 to a rampant Limerick team with a point to prove.

Twelve months on from Walsh Park, this Cork team has a stronger track record to take into consideration. They have come within a point of Liam MacCarthy glory and ended one famine with League silverware. 

You don’t want to risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

BALANCE

Where do you find the balance between changing it up and trusting in what you’ve developed?

You don’t want players to lose belief in the master plan. Yet, you don’t want squad members to think the team has become a closed shop.

Ryan skillfully retooled his selection last year and found the right balance. 

Maybe that sweet-spot only lasts so long. Form isn’t constant and if some players aren’t showing it, there has to be a cutoff point.

The malfunction in Limerick was so vast, perhaps you can shelve it and trust in players to find the right response. 

That performance didn’t represent the work that they have put in. So go back out and show what you can do.

The tightrope is such that if it doesn’t work on Sunday, it’ll be a long wait to get it right. But get the win against Waterford and Cork get an immediate shot at redemption in a Munster final.

Some decisions have been taken out of Ryan’s hands. O’Leary and Dalton will miss out on Sunday. 

That’s not an ideal scenario by any means. Still, it does give Ryan an opportunity to inject something fresh into the team and see if it sticks.

After all, that’s how the team evolved into All-Ireland contenders last year.

There is no shortage of suitors for those positions. Damien Cahalane replaced O’Leary last weekend. 

When Robert Downey was forced off in the last three outings, it was Ger Millerick, twice, and Cormac O’Brien who were drafted in. 

The latter duo appeared to be primed for starting roles during the League until injury intervened. It would make sense to give them their opportunity to follow through on that blueprint.

In attack, a fit-again Séamus Harnedy is an obvious choice to add that ball-winning edge into the half-forward line.

There could yet be further adjustments. Coleman’s best position is one area of conversation. 

He adds plenty with ball in hand, but Tom Morrissey and Cathal O’Neill made hay on his wing.

Twomey has brought bite to midfield, but that form has tailed off, leading to his half-time departure in Limerick.

Do you bring Coleman forward? Do you take Darragh Fitzgibbon back? Do you stick or twist?

Is Ciarán Joyce now the preferred centre-back, or was that an accommodation for a hampered Downey?

Patching up those defensive lines is key. Waterford’s best performers against Tipperary were Jamie Barron, who scored 0-4 off seven shots as he drifted from centre-forward, and Stephen Bennett, who netted a first-minute goal to break Paul Flynn’s all-time Déise scoring record.

They also have their own issues to resolve after that nine-point defeat.

Waterford would’ve had Tipp lined up a long way out as their most likely exit route to the All-Ireland Series. 

MISCUED

Their failure to exploit a fast start will rankle. They had a 1-3 to 0-1 jump on the hosts, but miscued nine wides within 25 minutes. Their conversion rate, like Cork’s, scarcely topped 50%.

Dessie Hutchinson’s quiet performance was a worry as Barron and Bennett lacked back-up on the scoresheet.

Teams have worked out how to exploit Tadhg de Búrca’s deep-lying role. Cian Lynch was Man of the Match from centre-forward against Waterford. 

Andrew Ormond achieved the same feat by scoring 0-3 and getting fouled for five frees. He should’ve had a penalty too.

Peter Queally must figure out a solution or risk Fitzgibbon or Shane Barrett exploiting those same spaces.

In the round-robin’s sixth iteration, Waterford will be getting sick of missing out on qualification.

It will be nervy, but Cork’s track record in similar corners should stand to them.