Cork hurlers 2010

[Reillers]

Cusack fighting fit after accident in training

By Michael Moynihan

Monday, December 28, 2009

CORK hurling manager Denis Walsh can rest easy with the news that his goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack has overcome a potentially serious training accident suffered on Saturday.

The Cloyne clubman slipped and struck his head while training and was taken to hospital in Cork for observation, but was released the same evening with no after-effects from the tumble.

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/cusack-fighting-fit-after-accident-in-training-108549.html#ixzz0b67CEPA5


Got very lucky there. Could have been a lot worse. Was with Sean Og and Cusack fighting fit after accident in training
and Donal Burke, the physical coach when it happened. An ambulance was called, and he was released the same day thankfully.
Could have been a lot worse.

Thank the Lord for that.

Thanks for the little analysis too Reillers-lad.

Was typing out what happened when I found the thing from the examiner, forgot to delete that part.

No harm, no foul Reillers.

All set for the Waterford Crystal cup and the twin towers up front?

Who knows..
Apparently 6 are gone off the panel according to the Echo, 4 dropped, 2 left. Don't know who, just rumours.

Aisake and Cussen..Don't know.

Em, picking a team will be interesting enough, we'll have none of the college lads, which rules out a truck load of them who probably would have been played..

But their time will come in the League hopefully.

I don't know how much Walsh has shaken it up, I couldn't predict who he'll start, who he'll try..etc.

There's apparently a new captain if you believe rumours, which I want, which we need.
We need a dead set starter to be captain, we don't want to have to be carrying dead weight. Not like when we had Mulcahy as captain in 06, all these years later and we've got lads still going on about how he cost us the 3 in a row.

I think a sensible pick would be best. I'd like to see something totally different, and for me, I'd almost be tempted to go with Shane O Neill (IN HIS RIGHT POSITION), new reigime, new start. If not him, Tom Kenny maybe. There are a few options. It'll be interesting to see if there's a change, who he's picked.

Anyway..

Cussen had a go up front in a challenge match against CIT. Word is that he played well at ff, scored a few points and caused havoc up there, was a real handfull.
He's a very smart player and players with a good head on them would play well off him, and pick up great breaks as well.

He was up front with Mark Collins and Luke O Farrel, there were a good few in there who I think are pretty promising young lads..
Darragh Rodgers is a very promising young lad. An excellent player, a lot of potential in him. 
Luke Farrell, is another, he played with the intermediates last season, deffinetly one for me to break through.
Jerry O Mahony, as well, he was brilliant with the club, he's real potential.


There will be some guys, because of college will miss out on a chance to play for that team.
The likes of John O Callaghan (injury free) I want to see given a go, William Egan, outstanding with the Duhallow U21s. Leigh Desmond has been around for a season or so, but he's a great prospect as well. Seems to improve every time he takes to the pitch. He was brilliant with the intermediates and I really hope he gets a chance this year.

Some players that are around on the fringes that I hope to see do better.
I mean, Paudie O Sullivan..so infuriating. The talents there, we all saw it. Why he can't produce it is a mystery in itself. It'd be one thing if he wasn't good enough at IC level, but he is, he was outstanding. He just hasn't done it with Cork, except for when he was put in with the backs. He was so good before he got injured, and he still is, that talent doesn't just disappear. Hopefully the year off will have done him good.

It's time for some young players to step up, and it's time for the "undroppables" to be given a shake up. To be fair, they know it, (according to Donal Og's book anyway) It's just a matter of dropping some of the undroppables and giving youth a go. DO what the footballers did, 2 panels, and a lot of sensible rotation. Where we get these guys used as much and as positively as possible. 

It'll be an interesting season in Cork.

[CompulsoryTillager]

New captain is Kieran Murphy

[Reillers]

New captain is Kieran Murphy

Beat me to it. 

To be fair, Fraggie is one of the hardest working players on the pitch. Not sure if he'll get his position or not though.

Shane O'Neill is vice captain, delighted to hear that.

[CompulsoryTillager]

I think being captain will give him more cofidence knowing that he doesn't have to be looking over his shoulder expecting to be the first player withdrawn, and he'll flourish

[Reillers]

I think being captain will give him more cofidence knowing that he doesn't have to be looking over his shoulder expecting to be the first player withdrawn, and he'll flourish

True, thinking about it now, it's more astute in terms of who didn't get it. I mean you no matter who's appointed captain there are some really strong leaders in the panel, captaincy or no captaincy, they're still leaders. I think they picked well. He's well respected within the squad, but he's not controversial either.
He's a fresh face for the media, there's no history there, there's no baggage.

And I think the captaincy will give him the motivation he needs to get back to where he was. He had a hard year or two with the club with all the issues with the strike and such.


With Fraggie as captain (which doesn't guarantee him a spot) and Shane O'Neill as vice captain are both excellent choices. Two uncontroversial, popular choices. A new start.   

[INDIANA]

Timmy Mac has retired I see. One of the few Cork hurlers I'd have had any time for. Great servant. Unlike a lot of the rest.

[Reillers]

Timmy Mac has retired I see. One of the few Cork hurlers I'd have had any time for. Great servant. Unlike a lot of the rest.

Timmy's gone. As it said on the echo, 4 dropped, 2 retired. Timmy is one of the ones who retired.

[heffo]

Timmy Mac has retired I see. One of the few Cork hurlers I'd have had any time for. Great servant. Unlike a lot of the rest.

Timmy's gone. As it said on the echo, 4 dropped, 2 retired. Timmy is one of the ones who retired.

Who are the four dropped?

[Reillers]

Cork (SH v UCC): M Coleman; S Murphy, D Cunningham, R Ryan; D Rodgers, A Ryan, J Nagle; G Callanan, W Egan; M Harrington, C McCarthy, M O'Sullivan; P O'Sullivan, M Cussen, A Walsh.

Subs: A Kennedy, D McSweeney, J Neville, M Ellis, D O'Callaghan, A O hAilpin, M O'Sullivan, S O'Brien and S Cronin.

Team against UCC for the first Waterford Crystal Cup game.
Obviously the big names aren't involved and unfortanately a lot of players I would have liked seen, and I think nearly all of us would have like seen given a go are all college tied. But they'll get their chance in the League.

Thankfully the rumours about Shane Murphy were untrue, that he hasn't left the panel. He did a good job last season, would have been a pity if he had left.
A few lads, on the team/squad, hopefully will be able to break into the senior team because there's talent there.
And as for Mark Ellis, good enough to have a run out with the seniors, but not good enough to be selected for the minors, and we wonder why with such talented selectors that we're not winning underage titles. I mean God forbid that the right team is picked..we can only hope.

[Reillers]

Cronin injury blow for Cork

Friday January 15 2010

The Cork hurlers have suffered a blow with the news that Pa Cronin is set to miss the entire NHL campaign because of a knee injury.

Cronin is facing at least three months on the sidelines with the injury, but manager Denis Walsh is hoping he will have regained full fitness in time for the Munster SHC opener against Tipperary in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on May 31.

Cronin has suffered a recurrence of a cartilage injury which he previously had surgery on.


..A blow, but, we now must look at other ball winning half forward, Pa Cronin had a lot of pressure on him after being taken out of underage and thrown right into the starting team and was expected to win us ball each time.
He's a lot of potential and he's suffered a bit from poor training, he's not been as crisp in games as he should have been.
But hopefully he'll come good.

[orangeman]

Curran is talking up Cork's chances 2010-2019

Ronan Curran believes that the Cork hurling team are capable of rediscovering their form and becoming a major force for the next decade.
Cork made it to four consecutive All-Ireland finals from 2003 to 2006 and Curran thinks that they have the talent in place to reach those heights again.

'It's not as if the Cork teams of the noughties is now gone. None of the players who played last year could be considered to be at the end and hopefully we will form part of the Cork team of the teens too,' Curran told the Irish Examiner.

'We're making a big push now, we're getting a good winter in and we're very hopeful. I wouldn't say that the end of the decade means the end of an era, it might be the start of a new era for some of the younger fellas.'

Curran also wants the Rebels to be remembered for their performances on the field as opposed to their high-profile disputes off it.

'Obviously things had to be done at times and there were mistakes made on all sides, but what we want to remember is the hurling, the battles we had on the pitch and the friends we made,' Curran said.

'Naturally some people will point to other events, but for the players, the main thing was on the pitch, and helping Cork to win was always the motivating factor for everything we did.

'It wouldn't bother me personally, or I think anyone else on the panel, if people disagree with us, as everybody is entitled to their opinion. Fellas obviously care what people think, but as a group, we always tried to do the best thing on and off the pitch. People have faults, everyone has faults, but we always tried to do what we thought was best.'

[Reillers]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/noone-is-too-big-to-be-dropped-2058007.html

Thursday February 11 2010

REPUTATIONS based on achievements from the last decade will count for nothing as Denis Walsh prepares to take Cork into the new hurling season without the baggage which weighed them down in the early months of the last two years.

Walsh, who replaced Gerald McCarthy as manager following a players' strike last spring, had no real opportunity to impose his personality on the panel in the hectic months that followed, but has been concentrating on that aspect amid the fresh harmony which currently exists on Leeside.

"Getting to know and understand the players has been a big priority for me. I had very little time to do that last year but it's different now," he said. "When I went in last year it was a question of trying to get momentum going as quickly as possible, but everybody else was well ahead at that stage. We're going in on a level playing pitch this time."

Steely

Essentially, Walsh was operating off an inherited panel, but he's now in the job for more than 10 months, which has enabled him to make his own assessments. Several of the squad have two or three All-Ireland medals and have also proven that they possess a steely resolve off the field, as demonstrated in their battles with the county board.

Consequently, there's now a huge interest -- inside and outside Cork -- in how Walsh will structure the side. How difficult would he find it to omit some of the experienced names who have big reputations as forceful personalities?

"Look, it's very simple. The team will be chosen on the basis of who's playing well. Anyone who's not going well won't be chosen, those who are will. Everybody in the squad knows that," said Walsh.

He has long since drawn a large black line under some of the most troubled chapters in Cork hurling history and is now looking forward to a season which they are approaching on the same basis as everybody else.

"It's about hurling, it's about getting ready for games and it's about winning as many as you can," Walsh continued. "We have a really competitive league schedule ahead which I'm looking forward to because it gives us seven games to test ourselves against the best in the country before we head for the championship."

Walsh was speaking at the launch of the 2010 Allianz National Hurling Leagues yesterday, accompanied by two of his biggest rivals. Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy, bosses of the country's top two counties over the past couple of years, talked of how their commitment to the league would be as intense as ever.

Cody, who has steered Kilkenny to seven All-Irelands and five National Leagues in the last decade, will never deviate from what has been the most successful formula in hurling history.

"Of course we want to win the league. Why play in it otherwise? It has served us well over the years and we'll be doing out utmost to win it again," he said.

Sheedy, whose Tipperary side won the league in 2008 and were runners-up to Kilkenny last year, also regards the competition as an extremely important part of the preparation for the championship.

"You're always looking for new players to show that they have the potential to make it through to the team, and a league which has seven games against top opposition certainly tests lads," he said. "If you expect a player to prove that he's ready to step into the championship team, he has to be doing it in the league. Padraic Maher and Noel McGrath found their feet for us in last year's league and got even better in the championship."

Tipperary host Kilkenny in the first round of the league under lights at Semple Stadium on Saturday week, and Cork host Offaly a day later.

All league games will be played under experimental rules, including one which demands that there must a clear striking action with the hand if a pass is to be deemed legal. This is designed to eradicate the grey area on what constitutes a properly executed pass as opposed to a throw, but Sheedy has some concerns over how it will be implemented.

"It can be a hard call for referees, but it's very important to get it right as it can change a game," he said.

Meanwhile, Cody revealed that Noel Hickey, who missed all of last year due to injury, was making good progress in his battle to reclaim the No 3 jersey later in the season.

Irish Independent

[Reillers]

Twin Towers crux for Cork boss

By Pat Keane

Thursday, February 11, 2010

TO play his big men or not to play his big men, that is the question troubling Cork hurling manager Denis Walsh as he plots his approach to the Allianz League campaign.

The prospect of entering his first full season in charge of the Cork hurlers is clearly an exciting one for the former county dual star.

At yesterday's launch of the hurling league in Dublin, there was the palpable sense of asking the same tired old questions to the same managers when facing down Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy.

The opportunity to pick Walsh's brain about his plans for the year as Cork attempt to re-establish themselves as a credible All-Ireland force, however, was both refreshing and rewarding in equal measure.

The St Catherine's man responded assuredly to one veiled question about potentially having to drop Cork greats like Séan Óg Ó hAilpín and Donal Óg Cusack going forward.

"There won't be any problems making decisions, sure if they're not playing well they're gone. They know that, I've told them that a hundred times. So that's it, it's absolutely simple, there's no complication in it."

He was happy too to accept that it's his responsibility to ensure there is no lingering hangover from the divisive winter strike of 2009 moving into the new season.

"If it happens and it affects their performance well then that comes back to me, doesn't it?" he deadpanned.

But the one question he struggled to answer definitively, because he simply doesn't know the answer yet, is exactly what he's going to do with his two big target men, Aisake Ó hAilpín and Michael Cussen.

It's a problem unique to Cork, who now have two full-forwards closer to seven foot than six, both highly mobile and capable of destroying opposing defences if used correctly. But what exactly is the correct way to use them? "I suppose I've been thinking about that but that's it, I've been thinking about it and I've my ideas on it but until we're on the pitch and doing it..." he said.

"I mean it's obvious (what the options are); you either play the two of them inside together, you play one of them at a time, you split them up or, four, you don't play them at all. They're the options.

"Genuinely, we haven't decided. We'll try to use the league to see what works and what doesn't. It's unusual to have two guys who are six foot seven who are mobile."

Aisake could claim to be the incumbent in the full-forward position though Cussen looked the real deal there for Sarsfields.

"To be fair, he has a very good touch hurling wise and, you know, it strikes me that he possibly is a better hurler than a footballer but we'll have to wait and see," said Walsh.

"You need a lot of character in the game and these fellas are going to be a 'stick out' for fellas that are on them, whether you have the character then to get into games and so on."

First up for Cork in the league is a home tie against newly promoted Offaly on Sunday week.

He admits it's debatable whether previous Cork managers and players invested 100% of themselves into winning the league.

"Realistically there probably was (apathy towards the league from Cork)," he said before spelling out his own intentions.

"Anyone who knows me would know that I take every game seriously. It would never be, 'We will just get the first two games out of the way'. I am taking it very seriously. It is a question of momentum.

"Back door systems and these things mean nothing to me. Confidence is crucial. Get the performance and get the win. You are where you are then. We will be taking the league very seriously and all my panel and management team know that clearly."

Aside from the performance and utilisation of Cork's 'Twin Towers' throughout the league, another intriguing development will be the form of Eoin Cadogan at the back.

Like Walsh managed successfully in his playing days, Cadogan will attempt to balance life as both an inter-county senior hurling and footballer.

"He is going to try and do that and it would be wrong for me to try and stop him," commented Walsh. "That is my stance on it. I don't know whether he is capable of doing it or not. I personally think he is able to do it — he has the character. It is obvious to anyone who knows anything about the game that he has what it takes."



This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, February 11, 2010

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/sport/twin-towers-crux-for-cork-boss-111849.html#ixzz0fGgtxhFw