Cork Hurling: Finding new backs is vital but zonal defensive set-up could be key 

A lot has been made in recent weeks about how the Cork hurlers are not producing enough new defenders.

This notion is being overegged, as options are emerging, even if the incumbents might not be going anywhere anytime soon.

It is true that Patrick Collins, Niall O’Leary, Robert Downey, Sean O’Donoghue, Tim O’Mahony and Mark Coleman all famously started the 2021 All-Ireland final defeat against Limerick, filling the numbers one to six jerseys.

Come next year’s championship, six years on, you could make a strong case for all of them to be occupying the similar roles.

O’Mahony has been plying his trade in midfield for the past number of years. With Brian O’Sullivan and Ethan Twomey being two of the most impressive performers in this year’s Premier Senior Championship, O’Mahony could return to the half-back line, or be tried in the forwards.

Mark Coleman is another player who you could imagine being deployed in a new role. With Darragh Fitzgibbon up to the forward line this year, there was definitely scope for him in a more advanced, playmaking midfield role. 

This may still happen, especially if Cork change their approach to be more like the likes of Limerick and Galway.

It is all well and good shouting for new blood in the Cork defence but the reality is that the likes of Niall O’Leary, Rob Downey and Sean O’Donoghue are much-improved since 2021. All three are All-Stars and it will take some effort for newcomers to surpass them. 

Cork hurling cannot sit still either so better back-up is vital.

While Ben O’Connor will obviously be focused on the 2027 championship, you would hope there is also one eye on the evolution of the Cork panel.

The above list does not include Eoin Downey, now well established as a senior member of the Cork team. Nor does it include Ciáran Joyce, who missed the bulk of this campaign with an ACL injury.

Dáire O’Leary is another. He looked like being Cork’s full-back last year, only to get injured just as the serious stuff started. 

It seems odd that the Watergrasshill man has played all his hurling for Cork at full-back. It would certainly be interesting to see him get a run in his natural position in the half-back line.

Of course, Fr O’Neill’s Ger Millerick remains an excellent Swiss-army-knife of a defender to use in certain scenarios.

Then we have the 'new' additions. Sarsfields’ Cathal McCarthy and Midleton’s Eoin Moloney can be considered as such, but it must be remembered that both of these would have been on the panel already if they had not lost a year each due to severe injuries.

Cillian Tobin looked the part for Bride Rovers this year and can certainly bolster the options in the half-back line.

The Fitzgibbon Cup early next year might give some food for thought too, as the likes of Ballinora’s Shane Kingston, Timmy Wilk and Kevin Lyons are all set to be cornerstones of UCC’s challenge. Impressive showings there will put them in the shop window.

Torn

There is a bit of chat around the potential recruitment of Tommy Walsh from the football panel. 

The Kanturk man would be an ideal no-nonsense man-marker, something the Cork panel is short of, but most Cork GAA fans would be reluctant for the hurlers to be taking players from the footballers. He'd be a massive loss for John Cleary’s side.

Walsh only needs to look at how his own brother Aidan’s career was affected by such switches to understand just what a huge leap that would be.

Changing the personnel is one thing but arguably the area where Cork might see most change is the set-up. In the last few seasons, Cork has played some swashbuckling hurling at times, but ultimately we have to conclude that this has left them too open. 

They have been exposed in Croke Park by teams who flood their half of the pitch and then exploit the huge amount of space up the other end.

The obvious change here is to move towards a Limerick-type set-up where the half-back line operates zonally and holds its shape as much as possible. This has the knock-on effect that midfield and the half-forwards must drop deeper. 

Cork have tried to avoid mimicking Limerick, but they simply can’t go up to Croke Park again and be so open.

Something has to give.