Cork football: What we need to see in championship after promising league campaign

Have you seen that current online trend 'what were you like in the '90s?' which features a blast of magic moments on your social media platform of choice from the good-ole days... 

You curate the best bits, naturally, and if you did the same for Cork football, you'd have plenty to pick from across that decade. An All-Ireland victory in 1990 and two more final appearances in '93 and '99, a league title, five Munsters, even a win down in Killarney, Cork's last, in 1995.

There were lows in the '90s but if someone told you a similar stretch lay ahead for the Rebels, you'd be thrilled.

Defeat to Meath at Croke Park last Sunday wasn't a cause for any major concern, given John Cleary's side are now promoted to the top tier of the league. 

There were some issues, including a 16-minute scoring drought in the second half when they were squeezed in back on kick-outs. Yet they still only lost by two points. 

There's more to come from a number of the players who had excelled during the league but Steven Sherlock, Daniel O'Mahony, Maurice Shanley, Chris Óg Jones and Paul Walsh all delivered on Jones Road. The bolter from the spring campaign Dara Sheedy had his first outing at Croker and while he came off with a knock, he got on the world of ball. The U20s are in action next Thursday and the seniors on Sunday, so it'll be interesting to see how that is handled.

A Division 2 title would have been a boost but what's critical is how they all fare in the coming months.

HALCYON DAYS

Cork’s only Division 2 success came in 2009, during the last golden era. That side featured players like Graham Canty, Nick Murphy and Noel O'Leary who had lifted Munster silverware in 2006 and ’08 and made the 2007 All-Ireland final. They’d add another two Munsters, three Division 1 leagues and Sam Maguire before the wheels came off.

The championship format has been tweaked again, with the group stages now gone but teams guaranteed a similar number of knockout matches. Cork have Limerick in the Páirc on Sunday week and then the winners of Tipp v Waterford before Kerry in Killarney in the Munster final if the games go as expected. A reward for reaching the provincial decider is a home game in the first round of the qualifiers. 

A win at that juncture would put Cork one step away from an All-Ireland quarter-final. 

Getting there for the first time since 2023 would be progress but far more significant would be bridging a 14-year gap to a semi-final appearance and taking out one of the big guns along the way.

Cork certainly showed their firepower over the last few months.

Steven Sherlock’s return to the fold saw him finish the regular season with 10 two-pointers. He arrowed a stunning 0-9, including a two, against Meath to bring his total to 0-51. Not far behind was Chris Óg Jones in landing 4-22, all from play, while Mark Cronin nailed 1-25. All three were in the overall top-10 scorers across Division 2 and Jones was top scorer from play.

That balance has been missing from the Rebel attack for too long, and that’s with Brian Hurley as an impact sub and Cathail O’Mahony and Conor Corbett absent. A clean bill of health for that duo would significantly strengthen Cork’s hand. Meath had a stronger bench press than Cork in the Division 2 final, with James Conlon banging 0-4.