Meyler: league a worthwhile exercise

Aidan Walsh’s return to the hurling fold for 2019 was one of the big talking points of the Rebels’ Munster hurling league campaign

WHILE the retirement of Lorcán McLoughlin saw Kanturk’s representation on the Cork senior hurling panel reduced, it was only a brief state of affairs as an old face returned.

Aidan Walsh has toggled between both codes for Cork over the past half-decade or so. An All Ireland Under 21 football medal winner in 2009, he was instrumental to the senior victory in 2010 and his All-Star in 2012, along with Colm O’Neill, remains the last time a Rebel footballer was honoured in that scheme.

When Brian Cuthbert was appointed as Cork football manager at the end of 2013, there was an attempt to allow dual players play for the county again and 2014 saw Walsh, Damien Cahalane and Eoin Cadogan try to serve both masters.

It proved to a good year for the hurlers as Cork won a first Munster title in eight years and, at the end of that campaign, Walsh and Cahalane opted to stick with hurling while Cadogan focused on football.

For the next two years, Walsh was hurling-only, but after an early exit in the 2016 championship, he and Alan Cadogan were invited to join the football panel for the All-Ireland qualifier against Donegal. It was the catalyst for another switch for Walsh – Cadogan stayed put – though his 2017 campaign was hampered by injury.

The win against Tipperary in the Munster semi-final last year seemed to provide a preview of the future, Walsh and captain Ian Maguire combining well but, after a heavy Munster final defeat to Kerry, Walsh was an unused sub as Cork shipped another big loss, to Tyrone in the qualifiers.

As things stand, it was his last football involvement and, following discussions with hurling boss John Meyler, he returned to that fold for pre-season training. He started at wing-forward for both of the CoOpSuperStores.ie Munster Hurling League games against Clare and Waterford, scoring a goal against the latter in Mallow last Wednesday night.

Ball-winning half-forwards are something Cork could do with and, just about to turn 29,

Walsh still has time on his side. While he has a lot of hurling and football played, at a number of levels, physically he is in excellent shape and if he can be a help towards Cork pushing on from two consecutive Munster wins, it will have been the right call, even if the footballers could do with him too.

Building a deeper squad has to be Cork’s primary aim for 2019, as the difference in talent coming off the bench was really the difference in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final loss to Limerick.

The Shannonsiders’ subs scored 2-5 in Croke Park that day as they seared ahead in extra time, with Cork only managing one point from a player who didn’t start, that coming from Jack O’Connor.

Obviously, finding more scoring power is easier said than done and, looking at the likely enrolments to the panel from those who featured in the Munster league and the Canon O’Brien Cup win over UCC, it seems that the players with the best chance of making an impact are further back the field.

Conor O’Callaghan of Dromtarriffe is a player who has been tipped to do well and will add to the competition for places in the full-back line, where the return of 2017 Munster-winning captain Stephen McDonnell also provides experience.

Sarsfields’ Eoghan Murphy will look to put himself in the mix in the half-back line, where Tim O’Mahony has been stationed too in early 2019. The Newtownshandrum man had a good league at number 6 last year, but injury impeded his progress and after his return he was used as a replacement forward while Eoin Cadogan was the man who came into the team when Mark Ellis was ruled out of the Munster final against Clare.

The Newtown man had a good league at number 6 last year, but injury impeded his progess

Conor Cahalane, younger brother of Damien, was one of the few Cork players to shine in the All Ireland Under 21 defeat to Tipperary, scoring 1-3, and if he can kick on it would be a boost to Meyler’s midfield options alongside Bill Cooper and Darragh Fitzgibbon, both of whom excelled in 2018.

As well as Walsh, Mallow’s Cormac Murphy is back and he too has featured in the half-forwards while Michael O’Halloran of Blackrock is another who has been stationed there.

Jamie Coughlan of Newtownshandrum will hope to make the most of his second chance too while the most eye-catching attacking newcomer has been Declan Dalton of Fr O’Neills.

He is an outstanding free-taker, though with Cork having Patrick Horgan for that, the East Cork man will need to contribute more in open play if he is to put himself in the mix.

As John Meyler said, that is the purpose of these games, to make an impression, with the league then used to further refine the squad and see who is capable of catching the eye come championship.

Cork have quite a few options and the coming weeks will see them properly evaluated.