Sarsfields raise the bar as PPG figures highlight shifting order in Cork PSHC

At the end of each championship season, there will always be some things that stick out on the statistical front. Patterns, quirks and idiosyncrasies. The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship never fails in that regard, and the points-per-game (PPG) ledger from 2025 offers its own intrigue.

Last year’s surprise outlier was Charleville – statistically the sharpest shooters in the grade despite flirting with relegation. Twelve months on, they’ve slipped into the bottom half of the PPG table, yet paradoxically progressed to a quarter-final.

Perhaps more interesting, is just how razor thin the margins are. They finished merely 0.1 PPG shy of the beaten county finalists Midleton, who wound up sixth in the table, with 22.1 PPG across six games (including the 20 minutes from their extra time epic with Blackrock).

But it is the champions, who finished second last season with 25.4 PPG, that have raised that bar once more to finish first, with 28.8 PPG.

Their final return of 28.8 owes only to the wides column in the county final from touching the fabled 30 per game. Still, an astounding figure, reflective of their quality all over the field.

Second on the list are the Rockies, beaten semi-finalists, averaging 26.6 PPG. That number is a slight improvement on last year’s return of 25 PPG. Third place is taken by the other beaten semi-finalists, St Finbarr’s, as the Togher men bounced back well from last year’s calamity, but still finished 4.4 PPG behind champions Sarsfields.

Taking fourth spot in the PPG rankings are the returning northsiders, Glen Rovers finishing with a total of 23.8 PPG from their four games this season. Somewhat surprisingly though, is that Erin’s Own, relegated to Senior A, take fifth spot with 22.6 PPG. The number itself is even a 1.9 PPG improvement on last year, but scores against were of course their undoing.

With Midleton sixth on 22.1, both Charleville and Newcestown are tied for seventh on 22.0 PPG, the sole Carbery rep in the PSHC finishing the year with a 2.0 PPG improvement on their return to the top flight last year.

Fr O’Neill’s remain in ninth, as they were last year, but did improve slightly – scoring 21.3 PPG this season compared to 20 PPG last.

Newtownshandrum take tenth spot, and like Midleton and Charleville, this season saw them drop off on the scoring front, but they still managed over 20 PPG. The north Cork outfit finished with 21.2 PPG in five games.

The bttom end is where the drop offs bite. Like Charleville, Kanturk’s PPG drop off was stark, plunging from 23.5 PPG last year to only 19.6 this season. They were just shy of the 20 PPG mark.

But at the bottom of the table, the side whose scoring woes were most glaring, are Douglas.

Last year they were in 11. The only team they bested on PPG were relegated Bishopstown. This season though, their PPG took another hit from the already low mark of 18.3, falling to just 17 PPG. One of many worrying points from the season gone by.

Rankings in full:

1st – Sarsfields 28.8 PPG 

(Last year: 2nd – 25.4 PPG) 

2nd – Blackrock 26.6 PPG 

Last year: 4th – 25.0 PPG) 

3rd – St Finbarr’s 24.4 PPG 

(Last year: 7th – 21.3 PPG) 

4th – Glen Rovers 23.8 PPG 

5th – Erin’s Own 22.6 PPG 

(Last year: 8th – 20.7 PPG) 

6th – Midleton 22.1 PPG

(Last year: 3rd – 25.4 PPG) 

7th – Charleville 22.0 PPG

(Last year: 1st – 26.8 PPG) 

7th – Newcestown 22.0 PPG 

(Last year: 10th – 20 PPG) 

9th – Fr O’Neill’s 21.3 PPG 

(Last year: 9th – 20.0 PPG) 

10th – Newtownshandrum 21.2 PPG 

(Last year: 6th – 23.3 PPG) 

11th – Kanturk 19.6 PPG 

(Last year: 5th – 23.5 PPG) 

12th – Douglas 17.0 PPG 

(Last year: 11th – 18.3 PPG)