Cork look the real deal this year
Iam Worried about our backs
They do joe. Definitely a serious turn around.
I was talking to my young lad this evening and mentioned Cork. What do you think I asked he says it was a fluke, Tipp and Waterford says I yep he says I reckon they fluked their two wins and are not near as good as what people are going on about. Clare will beat them well in the MF says he. Interesting take on it I thought.
You have to qualify that now by telling us what age he is
It doesnāt matter what age he is Mike, itās the fact that he said it at all is what is important. Heās 18 unbelievable.
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Ah no. You know what I mean.
Most of the time the lad that wins ārucksā is the lad who keeps his eye on the ball and gets down low while the other lads go in tearing into each other
Of course Mike. Heās an active club hurler at wing forward and loves hurling. Weāll have to wait and see if heās right.
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Dunno if that excuse can be taken seriously as IC teams are constantly playing each other in challenge matches.
The WD body language seemed all wrong yesterday. They seemed at odds with what the fame plan was. I know you are a big fan of Brick Walsh but I think heās a luxury pick for McGrath at this stage. He uses the ball well with these trademark one handed flicks off the hurl but is that any good really when his forwards are waiting on early ball in?
Moran was also anonymous too but you would have to think is he 100% fit.
Dunfords omission from the team seems mad as @Big_Dan_Campbell pointed out. You would have to feel him & Barron as a MF combo would be a tough partnership to win a battle against.
WD may just bounce back in the Qualifiers but I think the race is run under current management.
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It had the whiff of their defeat to Clare under Justin in 08. Gone a bit stale
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Very good point mate.
It could be argued winning Munster could hamper Corks AI ambitions. I think the wait for an AI SF could kill their momentum.
Agreed. Itās a dose. But we would take the winning of Munster all day right now. As discussed earlier this team are together and pkaying as a unit since Jan though which is unusual these days so maybe tje break coukd be just what they need to refresh them.
I think they have improved a ton from the latter stages of league to now so the league exit maybe gave them time to work on few bits on training field they wouldnāt have had otherwise. Also unlike a lot of other counties they will be back to clubs for time off. So could go either way.
That tipp defeat was a sickener they killed is with the short puckouts all day had no answer to it at all. Was a different dynamic then though going in with an expectation having been so close the year before. This team are in bonus territory big time now
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From a neutral perspective I wonāt begrudge them winning Munster or the AI this year as they are positive in their approach.
Butā¦
I think their FB line is a weak area & will be got at by better prepped teams.
They currently seem to have a conditioning level which is well ahead of everything theyāve faced. That advantage as the year progress will be eroded.
Goals. They are not getting enough or tbh looking like getting them. 20 + points in the rest of this years games against Teams who have their homework done is a massive ask.
Their bench. Is it strong enough when the changes need to be made? I doubt it.
In saying all of the above leaves Question marks, its still very much fair to sayā¦
Currently their touch and pace is awesome & Kingston deserves huge credit for the brand of hurling his team are playing but also the plan they are all very much focussed on.
Good luck to them.
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Wouldnt disagree with any of that. Already surpassed expectations. I bumped a comment on the cork thread and the full back line was a huge concern from the outset of the league. They appear to have tightened up a bit since and Cahalane has improved no end. But wouldnāt be hugely confident they could tie down an all guns blazing tipp or Clare full forward line
Limerick will take them handy enough in the quarters or semi
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Hard to see where Waterford go without solving the full back problem unless they return to the sweeper which brings its own issues. Coughlan simply isnāt up to it and will struggle to break even let alone win a battle against any competent intercounty full forward without a sweeper in front of him.
Maybe one of the Fives could plug a gap for a game or two but it is a big ask. With Brick, Mahony and the two Bennettās up front they are also lacking pace. The likes of Dunford and Oā Halloran would rectify that but McGrath seems to have his favourites at this point. Hard to see whether he has the appetite for major surgery to the team.
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I wouldnāt begrudge it to you chief (I would really)
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Limerick v Cork AI Final. Itāll be the greatest of all finals, 134K in Croke Park scenes of scenes with Limerick to win.
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Theyāll have to go straight to plan b in Croker (And thatās just for the national anthem)