Rebels attack now has a cutting edge it was missing

CORK football now has forward options the county was lacking in previous seasons – that’s the verdict from former Rebels attacker John Hayes.

The 2010 All-Ireland winner, who also served as a senior selector under Ronan McCarthy, is optimistic about Cork’s promotion chances this season as the Rebels open their Division 2 campaign away to Donegal on Sunday (Ballybofey, 1.45pm, deferred coverage on TG4). Part of the reason why Hayes is hopeful of a strong Cork campaign is that John Cleary’s team now has forward options, alleviating some of the pressure on captain Brian Hurley.

‘With a full deck you have Brian Hurley, Steven Sherlock, Cathail O’Mahony, Conor Corbett, Chris Óg Jones,’ Hayes explained on this week’s Star Sport Podcast. 

‘What that means is an opposition can’t focus on one or two guys. Automatically, things will open up; if someone is double marked it means there is room for someone else. It gives huge options. 

‘It gives management the idea that they can rotate players or find a new role for someone; in terms of the modern game, do you pull someone back and try and use their kicking ability or something to that effect? 

‘I’d be really hopeful if those guys can stay fit. Brian’s fitness is another thing, he has given great service to Cork and always turned up, but he has taken a beating as well so you can’t expect him to be there 100 percent of the time. He can’t do it on his own but it looks like he has the back-up and support he didn’t have before.’

Cork captain Brian Hurley.

Hurley, involved in Castlehaven’s run to the All-Ireland club semi-final, didn’t feature in the McGrath Cup, Cathail O’Mahony will miss the league campaign through injury and Steven Sherlock is also on the way back from injury. In the McGrath Cup, Chris Óg Jones, Eoghan McSweeney, David Buckley and Mark Cronin all impressed at various stages, adding to Cork’s attacking options – and this is what Cork needs, players pushing for selection.

‘I was at the McGrath Cup final (against Kerry) on Saturday and Conor Corbett had a very good outing. I don't think he scored but he won everything that came into him, and everything that came into him pretty much stuck and he found Cork players coming through on the run. If Corbett can progress up another level, that would be brilliant,’ Hayes said.

‘Steven Sherlock will be there, hopefully Cathail O’Mahony will come into it at some stage. There are other players knocking on the door too, like Eoghan McSweeney, Chris Óg Jones, Mark Cronin, Fionn Herlihy, so we have forward options that maybe we lacked a few years ago. It means we have more strength in depth compared to a few years ago.

‘The template has been 12 or 13 behind the ball, leaving two or three up. I know everyone gets behind the ball at times but when Cork can do it, they will keep someone up, whether it’s Corbett or Brian Hurley or whoever, and they can be the target man then. Chris Óg Jones is another starting to come into his own at inter-county level too; he has shown he is able to make the step up and there’s a bit of cut about him too. Cork have forward options.

‘If we can develop a half-forward line with a bit more physicality. Brian O’Driscoll came back into it last year and added the physicality we need. If Killian O’Hanlon gets fit, he’s another option there.’

This will be Cleary’s second full season as Cork boss and there is a familiarity to his team. That in itself is progression. Take midfield as an example – if both are fit, it will be Colm O’Callaghan and Ian Maguire. Their partnership developed throughout the 2023 campaign, and Hayes feels while it’s working, Cork also need more ball winners around the middle third to help O’Callaghan and Maguire.

‘In midfield, Ian and Colm are working well together. Colm is another player who was probably criticised early in his Cork career in the sense that people thought he’s a big fella and he can run, but can he really play? He can, he can play and he can score, and I’m excited to see those two again,’ Hayes said.

‘Colm helps take the pressure off Ian, who has given a decade of service to Cork, doing that hard running up and down the pitch, like a box-to-box midfielder, tackling, harrying, carrying. With Colm there now, and with his pace and power, it takes some of the pressure off Ian. 

‘I do still think we need more ball-winning ability to supplement those two guys, they are good in the air but we don’t have the tallest midfield in the world so other teams can put pressure on us in the air, like Kerry have done at times. If we could develop Killian O’Hanlon as another kick-out option, Brian O’Driscoll, these guys, that will be crucial for Cork because at times when people have pressed us we have struggled to get away.’

Hayes also added: ‘I know Cork have worked strongly on the overload kick-out, pretty much overloading one side with midfielders, half forwards and half backs putting the ball in there and making it a dogfight, but we need to get a little bit better with it, but there should be other options too and we need to develop that a bit more.’