GER Manley has been around the Cork set-up long enough to know how much his players love knock-out camogie.

This Saturday, the Rebels are bidding to qualify for their sixth Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie championship final in a row. That’s remarkable consistency at the highest level, but it doesn’t surprise the Cork boss.

‘We’re into knockout territory now, so the intensity goes up,’ Manley notes.

‘They’re trying harder, working harder and preparing better themselves. It just comes out of them, that competitive edge when we get to this stage. The camogie girls especially seem to have that edge and training has had that edge for the last few weeks since the group stage.’

The Rebels powered through an unusual group stage where they were guaranteed progression to the knockout stages whatever the results. But Cork meant business. They beat Galway (0-18 to 1-8), Tipperary (0-21 to 0-18) and Waterford (1-13 to 0-10) to advance directly into the All-Ireland semi-finals. And it’s Tipp again as they battle in the last-four showdown at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Sunday (6pm, live on RTÉ).

‘I think knockout does bring the best out of us. There were a lot of doubters out there early in the year and, look, we doubted ourselves at times too. But we always felt that once the summer came we’d have a lot of players back,’ Manley explains.

The struggles in the league and Munster championship need context – Cork were missing a host of key players. But the return of stalwarts like Ashling Thompson and Meábh Cahalane have boosted the squad at the right time of the season.

‘Ashling had a very bad injury (elbow), so we didn't think we’d get her back for the group stages. We were hoping we’d have her for a quarter-final or semi-final, but she’s back ahead of time. Hopefully she'll be sharper again the next day. She's five weeks back training now, so she’ll benefit from that,’ Manley says.

‘Méabh Cahalane is the same. She had a very long year last year, had a couple of niggly injuries and picked up another one this year. But she's going well in training now as well. It's great for competition for places.’

Tipperary’s Eimear McGrath and Cork’s Sorcha McCartan ahead of the 2026 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championship semi-final double header in FBD Semple Stadium. (Photo: James Crombie/INPHO)

Manley can see it in training too – there’s an extra bounce as the season races to the business end. This is familiar ground for Cork who have won their last five All-Ireland semi-finals, beating Kilkenny (2021 and 2022), Waterford (2023 and 2025) and Galway (2024). It’s impressive consistency.

‘Look, nobody is entitled to win matches. Their belief is what drives it on. It’s very much player-driven. I've been involved a few years now and I probably didn't realise just how much the players drive it themselves,’ Manley says.

‘They’re a fantastic bunch to work with and they’re always looking to improve, even if it's only small bits all the time. We probably overthink things at times. You’d love to go out and blow teams away, but most games take their own path.

‘The big thing with us is controlling what we can control. The players put in an incredible amount of work. By the time you get to this stage of the year it’s about winning, but they’ve put a huge amount into it.

‘At the end of the day, it’s about work rate. There's probably very little between ourselves and Tipp, so it'll come down to work rate, a bit of luck and hopefully we'll be in the right place.’

Given their consistency and big-game experience, Cork will back themselves to make it six All-Ireland senior finals in a row. But Tipp will have other ideas. These two know each other well, having already played three times this season – in the league, Munster championship and All-Ireland group stage.

In the league, it was honours even at Páirc Uí Rinn, 2-8 to 1-11. Tipperary beat the Rebels in a Munster quarter-final, 1-18 to 2-9 at Semple Stadium. But when they met in Group 1 of the All-Ireland championship in Thurles last month, Cork won 0-21 to 0-18.

‘There’s not much between us,’ Manley says.

‘The league game was a funny one. We were on top early and they took over in the second half, so we were probably lucky enough to come away with the result.

‘They gave us a right rattle in the last ten minutes of the Munster game and were well on top. We probably weren’t playing that well at the time because we were trying to get more game time into a few players.

‘But I thought we played quite well against them in the championship game when there were only three points in it.

‘They probably have a bit of an advantage with it being in Thurles, but Cork teams like playing there, whether it’s camogie, hurling or football. It’s a fabulous pitch and we're looking forward to it.’