Cork Hurling: Brian Hayes or Alan Walsh could offer an out-ball like Gearóid Hegarty

In this year’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Limerick and Clare, Limerick’s wing forward Gearóid Hegarty failed to register a single score. 

Yet without the towering St Patrick’s man John Kiely’s side would have lost that day.

Clare were well on top all over the field and Limerick were in a huge hole but Hegarty almost single-handedly dragged them back by his sheer will and dominant physical presence.

When Limerick were on the ropes, they knew they could rely on him as a guaranteed out-ball. When it's going pear-shaped, they just land it close to Hegarty. The ball invariably sticks. 

In early July, John Fogarty described Limerick’s second-half puckouts that day as “a form of piggery”, which was a wonderful description of the mayhem that ensued under every dropping restart.

Limerick are a wonderful hurling side. Talent, striking, speed, pace, first touch. They have it all. 

But where they really stand out from the crowd is the fact that they are the best at piggery. And to be quite clear, that is no insult. It is the opposite. It is an essential part of the game, one that the great Kilkenny team of the late noughties would have been masters of too.

Last month, as Limerick started to hoover up most of the available dirty ball Clare’s scoring dried up. They only registered 1-3 in the second half, managing only a single score from play, when a few timely scores would have seen them into the All-Ireland final.

Fadeout

In Cork’s last two visits to Croke Park, they badly needed a Hegarty to launch the ball towards when things started to go Pete Tong, but they had no one with his special set of skills, to quote Liam Neeson in the film Taken.

Cork wilted badly in the second halves of both the 2025 All-Ireland final against Tipperary and the semi-final this year against Galway.

Finding a Gearóid Hegarty in red is impossible but Cork must at least try to introduce someone who can be a go-to ball winner in the half-forward line or otherwise the type of fadeouts that have been seen in the past two seasons can be expected again.

Brian Hayes and Alan Walsh both have the size to match Hegarty, but obviously, it is not that simple. Hegarty’s game is not just about standing next to his man and winning 50/50s sent in his direction. His game is about movement, timing, aggression and a host of other attributes that are not easy to replicate, but that does not mean Cork should not try.

Moving Hayes or Walsh out from the full-forward line would mean that Cork would lose an aerial threat inside but with two hurlers of this ilk, it's worth trying.

In the league next year, both should be trialled on the wings. You can even imagine a scenario where the pair switch during games, which would keep opposition defences guessing.

Stretched

A lot was made about how the Cork attack has evolved significantly in the last couple of years in terms of playing personnel but, in contrast, the defence has been largely unchanged since the 2021 campaign.

There is truth to that, but injuries to the likes of Ciáran Joyce and Dáire O’Leary have to be taken into account. Those 2020 U20 All-Ireland winners would have played significant roles this summer only for their injury issues.

Former Cork underage All-Ireland winner Cillian Tobin looked the part at centre-back in Bride Rovers' comfortable opening championship victory over Newcestown and no doubt others will put themselves in the frame in the coming weeks on club duty.

Ben O’Connor refreshed the Cork attack this year. He may well attempt to do similar at the other end of the pitch in 2027, although he needs to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater either.