The puckout battle: How Cork and Tipp shaped up at the Páirc

Three weeks of National Hurling League action have been put down and Cork’s puckout picture has looked quite different now to what we saw in round one against Waterford and again a week later versus Galway.

Cork leaned heavily long against Waterford and almost exclusively short in Salthill. This time, against the reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary, it was a more fluid mix.

In the opening period, Patrick Collins went long and to his right more often than not. It was Cork’s least productive avenue on the night.

The Rebels struggled to gain traction off those restarts, losing six of eight long deliveries, and for a stretch it felt like they were forcing a picture that simply wasn’t there. So, Collins adjusted.

A handful of short puckouts followed, and it gave Cork much better control. Hopefully, a sign of things to come for the year, but it’s keeping in line with what we’ve seen from the team in their first few games under O’Connor. There has been a real sense of fluidity to their approach, and they’ve not been afraid of tweaking plans mid game.

In the second half, Cork’s puckout return was much improved, up from 60% (9/15) to 86.6% (13/15). Collins mixed long, mid-range and short, all to a much greater effectiveness. Just one of five long range restarts was lost, compared to six of eight in the opening period.

The concentration was mixed, though there were a few more short puckouts thrown in. Overall the Rebels finished up with a 73.3% (22/30) puckout retention rate, but of those that went beyond the halfway line, they managed only 46.1% (6/13).

There’s certainly room for improvement based on Saturday’s display, but Cork adapted well. That adaptation is clearly a factor in why Cork have three wins from three.

For their opponents, Tipp, Rhys Shelly mixed it up too in the opening period, but they, like Cork, struggled to retain their long restarts. Just four of ten to go beyond halfway were held.

Tipp finished with an overall retention of 71.4% (15/21) in that first period, and that improved to 78.9% (15/19) in the second, but in both halves Shelly primarily stuck with the short options.

They improved on long puckouts in the second period, but still ended the game with only 41.1% (7/17) retained of all restarts that went beyond the halfway line, compared to the inflated total of 75% (30/40) when you factor in the short hits.

A key reason for Cork’s superiority on Tipperary’s long distance restarts was how good Mark Coleman was in the first half and how influential Eoin Downey managed to be in both.

Downey in particular, was a monster in the air. When you consider what Mark Coleman has shown in the first few games and that Ciarán Joyce is still to come back into frame, Cork are well loaded for options in the half-back line.

It will be interesting to see what place the Downey brothers occupy on the team by the time championship rolls around, but having so much choice for different positions can only be a good thing for Ben O’Connor.

It’s almost a given that Collins will be between the posts for championship, but it will be interesting to see if Paudie O’Sullivan or Brion Saunderson should get a run out, how Cork’s puckouts change.