John Horgan on Cork's rivalry with Offaly and new hurlers who deserve a chance on Saturday

Offaly's visit to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh next Saturday night is their final outing in Division 1A of the NHL for a season at least.

The Faithful County have found the going very difficult in the top flight of the secondary competition, losing their five outings to date and they will be back in Division 1B in 2027.

The meetings between Cork and Offaly down through the years have been fairly infrequent, firstly because they are domiciled in different provinces and on the national stage, their paths rarely crossed either.

But that's not saying there isn't history between the counties, there is and, of course, in the centenary year of 1984, they lined up against each other in Thurles in the All-Ireland final.

The events of that historic occasion are well documented, Cork returning to the winner's enclosure with ten points to spare in a final that Cork dominated from the outset.

It was 15 years before they collided again in the All-Ireland semi-final of 1999. This time the story was entirely different, Cork being taken right to the wire before emerging winners on a scoreline of 0-19 to 0-16 and thus ending Offaly's reign as All-Ireland champions from the previous season.

It was one of the season's best games.

Cork boss Jimmy Barry-Murphy gave youth its fling that year and it reaped a rich reward, Cork ending a 10-year famine with victory over Kilkenny in the final.

That game asked huge questions of an inexperienced Cork side to a great extent but a five-point unanswered haul got them over the line in very inclement conditions with Brian Corcoran standing tall at centre-back.

A year later, the result was reversed, Offaly this time emerging winners in the semi-final by four points, 0-19 to 0-15, to end Cork's time at the top of the pile.

Their meetings were more frequent in the years 2007 to 2012, coming together five times in the All-Ireland qualifiers with Cork winning every time. They also met two years ago in a preliminary quarter-final.

So, whilst their rivalry overall might not be a lengthy one, both counties have been involved in some significant clashes since the Faithful County made the big breakthrough in 1981.

In fact, it could be said that over the past 40 years or so, Offaly have been one of those counties that came in from the cold and contributed handsomely to the health of the game.

Since that breakthrough year of '81, they have landed the Liam MacCarthy Cup three more times: '85, 1994 and 1998.

TOP CLASS

Hurling desperately needs counties like Offaly to threaten the supremacy of the more familiar counties and in the '80s and '90 they had teams that contained players of the highest calibre.

In the '90s, in particular, they were one of three counties that changed the complexion of hurling at the highest level, themselves Wexford and Clare dominating the landscape between 1994 and 1998.

The much bigger guns of Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary looking on in that period from the outside. Offaly took home the title twice in those years, 1994 and 1998, Clare in 1995 and 1997 and Wexford in 1996.

It could be said that it was a golden age for the less successful counties and gave a semblance of hope to others trying to find the path to the ultimate accolade.

The 1990s are looked back upon as a cherished era for hurling because of those landmark victories by those three aforementioned counties, revolutionary years as they were described.

The latest meeting of Cork and Offaly is well down the pecking order of significance with the latter already relegated and on home turf, Cork are firm favourites to reach the league final.

The focus of pre-match speculation centres quite a bit on the make-up of the Cork starting 15, whether or not Ben O'Connor goes with a largely experimental outfit, the players who have not featured already in the competition, or field with a side that may be nearer the one that starts against Tipp in the Munster championship.

Given the current strength of the panel and the intense competition for places on the team, it's very likely that those who do get the nod will not be holding back.

O'Connor and his management are probably closing in on the 15 that will start in Thurles next month but that's not saying that the door is closed for the rest.

A Cork win or a draw, even a loss, gives the selection committee just two games to play before that big assignment against the All-Ireland champions so it could be said that making-your-mind-up time is getting closer.

The management thus far have used the vast majority of their panel and that is as it should be. That's the whole point of the league, no county setting their sights firmly on winning it but getting as much as you can out of it.

Could we see players like goalkeeper Brion Saunderson getting a first start of the campaign in this game, maybe Padraig Power, Brian O'Sullivan, Darragh O'Sullivan, Brian Cunningham and Brian Keating could feature if injuries are not a restriction.

The likelihood is that it will be a blend of established players and those with no game time or very little lining up.

Offaly's campaign has been hampered by injuries to key players but despite their low standing on the table, a win over Cork would be a very positive way to sign off before the commencement of the Leinster championship.

And, with a full hand to play from, they could bother Dublin and Wexford and defeat Kildare which would give them an outside chance of advancement.

They have integrated quite a number of the very good minor and All-Ireland winning U20 squads into the equation, players like Adam Screeney, Charlie Mitchell, Dan Ravenhill and Ciaran Burke.

PASSIONATE

There is a great passion in the county for hurling and that was very evident as we followed them on TV in those minor and U20 campaigns.

Manager Johnny Kelly is a top hurling man and realises there is a solid foundation in the team to ensure that they don't return to the days when the county dropped alarmingly into the Christy Ring Cup.

They are probably a long distance out from being major title contenders as they were in the '80 and '90s when you had wonderful hurlers like Brian Whelehan, Padraigh Horan, Pat Fluery, the Dooley brothers, Michael Duignan leading the charge.

It's very important the counties who've dropped off the radar in terms of being leading contenders stay in the spotlight.

Cork will be in the league final after Saturday night and this is likely to be the last meeting between the counties for quite some time.

The game of the weekend is surely going to be the clash of Limerick and Galway, which is effectively a league semi-final.

Galway will arrive in the Gaelic Grounds on the back of a severe trouncing of Kilkenny and there is a growing belief now that they are going to be in a position to end Kilkenny's Leinster championship dominance.

This is a game certainly worth tuning into.