St Finbarr's ace forward Steven Sherlock confirms Cork return

Steven Sherlock will return to the Cork senior football panel for the 2026 season.

The in-form St Finbarr’s captain took a year out during the recent campaign amid frustrations over his game time.

However, with the new rules suiting his free-scoring style, Sherlock’s return was a key ambition for John Cleary since being handed a two-year extension.

“Yeah, I’ll be back in in 2026, so I’m looking forward to that,” confirmed Sherlock.

AMBITION

“First things first is the club. My ambition for the whole year was to concentrate on that, and that’s the aim for the next few weeks before going back into the county scene.” 

The 28-year-old certainly endorsed his inter-county capabilities by filleting Carrigaline for 1-14 in their Premier SFC round 3 meeting.

Starting from centre-forward, Sherlock kicked five points into the strong wind, including a powerful 45.

With the benefit of the breeze, he landed four two-pointers, including three frees and an outrageous outside-of-the-boot sideline from just inside the 45. His final long-range attempt deceived the keeper to fall into the net.

“I'm delighted to be fair,” said Sherlock. “I felt like I didn't perform as well as I could have in the first two games, so to get that was a good plus. We had a good spread of scorers, so we're delighted.

“There are great footballers all over the pitch. Some of the lads have been involved in hurling with Cork, so they haven't got a lot of football done, but since they've come back, they've been top-notch. 

You can see their football improving every day.” 

Sherlock had become a leading scorer for Cork, racking up 1-66 in the previous three championship campaigns.

He was nominated for an All-Star in 2022 after helping the Rebels to an All-Ireland quarter-final appearance.

Having lost his starting berth for the 2023 group stage, Sherlock memorably caught fire in the second half against Mayo, blitzing the Westerners for 1-5 in a spectacular 12-minute burst.

He played in all 13 league and championship games in 2024, but 11 of those came off the bench.

Focusing on club action this year, Sherlock landed 1-75 in the league and has notched 2-24 in three championship games to secure a big-name quarter-final against reigning champions Castlehaven.