Life after Patrick Horgan: Cork need a new free-taker and places will open up in attack

WHO ELSE WILL OPT OUT?

Seamus Harnedy, who was 35 in July, was the second-oldest hurler in the Cork squad last season while Conor Lehane and Damien Cahalane were 33 this year.

Harnedy is set to stay on board into 2026. 

That could be in a reduced role as imapct sub. While he's been a starter since his breakthrough in 2013, he had injury issues recently. 

The St Ita's man demonstrated in the Munster round-robin loss to Limerick and the All-Ireland final that he can come on and be a primary ball-winner and scorer.

Harnedy's retention also keeps some experience and leadership in the dressing room.

Lehane and Cahalane were both integral to the Munster final victory in the Gaelic Grounds but will they see action next season if they commit again? The likes of Luke Meade and Jack O'Connor, in their late 20s, were on the fringes during the summer so might also move on.

WHO TAKES THE FREES?

Hoggie was lethal from placed balls across his career and proved his mettle time and again on the biggest stage. Replacing that reliability won't be straightforward.

Darragh Fitzgibbon was on frees in the league and then converted the 65 that sent the Munster final with Limerick to penalties. 

He's a figurehead of Cork hurling after another All-Star campaign.

Declan Dalton is deadly for Fr O'Neills and nailed some monster frees from distance for Cork in recent years. Alan Connolly is another option as he regularly delivers for Blackrock and it could be a way to get him involved in the action early.

Two of the likely new recruits, St Finbarr's Ben Cunningham and Dungourney's Jack Leahy, have done the business for their clubs and Cork underage teams but it would be a big ask to assume that burden straight away. 

Then again, Darragh McCarthy didn't let Tipp down on All-Ireland Sunday...

HOW RADICAL WILL BEN O'CONNOR BE?

There's certainly the feeling that a new era is dawning with O'Connor replacing Pat Ryan as bainsteoir and Cork's greatest modern player retiring.

On one hand, time is on O'Connor's side. He has the U20 All-Ireland winning crew of 2023 to blood next season and a three-year term.

Yet, Cork are Munster and league champions and while they endured a horrific second half in the All-Ireland, have reached back-to-back finals. That Cork received five All-Stars in 2024 and had 11 nominees from this campaign, shows how much talent is on Leeside.

O'Connor's county-winning Charleville and Midleton sides were flying fit and worked like dogs. The Cork U20s had a steely edge.

The team will naturally be freshened up but change could be as much tactical as anything else.