IT’S PETER CAN
Banner ace Duggan is the boy who grew up to be a main man, reckons team-mate O’connor
CORK boss John Meyler says his players’ character has shone through en route to the Munster final.
The Rebels came through the round robin phase unscathed having come from behind to beat Limerick and Waterford, while there was also a fine win over Clare and a gutsy draw with Tipperary.
Meyler said: “At different stages we played some incredible hurling and at other stages we were poor.
“The character showed against Tipperary – they went up, we came back again, the same against Limerick.
“The last 10 minutes against Waterford, I was delighted with the attitude shown by the lads, you couldn’t ask for more.”
Cork are now in their second-longest drought without an All-ireland, their last title coming back in 2005. Meyler doesn’t shy away from the demands on Leeside.
He said: “Cork people want to win All-irelands, that’s what they’re interested in and that’s what they’ve been used to, especially the older generation.
“Sunday is another step, we want to get to the All-ireland semi-final and that’s a shorter route. That doesn’t change in any county, it’s the bottom line. Winning is what it’s about.”
The on-fire marksman has been around the Clare panel since 2012 but finally caught fire last year.
He propelled his club Clooney-quin into the county final for the first time in over 70 years then starred for Clare in the Fenway Classic in Boston last November
And the all-action half-forward has continued his form into this year’s League and the provincial championship.
“He’s evolved in front of our eyes as much as he has in front of everyone’s,” said Banner team-mate Patrick O’connor.
“I’d often have said to him, ‘be more confident, you are as good as anyone out there’.
“But it wasn’t until he got the run with the club and he actually saw himself doing it on the field that it really started to grow for him.”
O’connor knows how much of a handful Duggan can be after marking him in training.
“I actually got a nice shiner off him earlier this year,” the 27-year-old smiled.
“He’s just a massive unit, he’s gotten really strong, really powerful, over the last year or two.
“It’s been in the white heat of championship in really intense games where he has really come into his own and taken so much of that scoring burden on his shoulders.
“Sometimes I give out about how quickly he does it, because down in the backs you’d be looking for a break and next thing, a free is awarded and 30 seconds later it’s over the bar!
“He’s just on such a confident run at the minute, he really doesn’t look like he’s going to miss. He makes it look really easy, which is a sign of a top free taker.”
O’connor believes Clare have been crying out for a forward in the mould of Duggan for several years now, perhaps since their last All-ireland title in 2013.
“There have been so many matches over the last couple of years where if we had kept the wide count down and scored our frees, we’d have been so much closer to getting over the line.
“I’m not talking about taking home trophies or anything like that, but we definitely would’ve been so much closer.
“That’s the kind of clinical edge that we haven’t had but he’s so big as well in open play that he draws men to him, wins frees himself. And if you could see his stats, he’s usually one of the guys that covers the most ground as well. He has ferocious work-rate to back it up.
“Free-taking is not for everyone because it’s really high pressure. But it seems to weigh very, very lightly on his shoulders.”