ON THE EDGE

New Cork manager Ben O’Connor has not shied away from his team using more aggression on the field, and that is evident so far. Twenty or more frees conceded in each of the three Division 1A league games. Scuffles against Galway and Tipperary. Six yellow cards. One black. One red. This is what many people might describe as the ‘new Cork,’ a team that will not back down against their opponents. The perception of Cork in the past was that they were too soft and that their main competition in Limerick, Tipp and Clare would use controlled aggression to win the tight games. O’Connor has brought a steeliness to his Cork side in the early rounds of the league as they put in some big challenges in the tight encounters. As long as they keep up this for the championship, Cork will be a hard team to face.

SCORING SPREAD

You can’t say Cork are over-reliant on one player right now. In the past, Patrick Horgan had been the lead man for the Rebels but over time the supporting cast has stood up. While Horgan is now retired, four Cork players are in the top ten scorers overall in Division 1A so far – Alan Connolly (1-14), Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-13), Shane Barrett (0-11) and William Buckley (1-7). The same four are in the top six scorers from play too, with Fitzgibbon and Barrett joint-top the list with 0-11 each. Fifteen different players have got on the scoresheet for Cork after three games. Only Tipperary have more (21). This has been a constant in their three games. Ten scorers against Waterford. Eight against Galway. Nine against Tipp. With the cut-throat Munster championship coming down the tracks, this is a great positive to have.

PANEL GAME

Cork have used 28 players in their three league games with only Patrick Collins and Alan Connolly playing every minute so far. Considering Ben O’Connor named a 36-man panel for the league, it means only eight players have yet to see game time. With four more league matches to play, the Cork boss will be pleased with the amount of players he has utilised. There is a trophy at the end of the league campaign, granted, but this stage of the season is about seeing what a team has available and what the newer faces can offer come championship. With William Buckley, Dáire O’Leary, Brian Roche and Eoin Roche all getting over 70 minutes, we have seen fresh faces come to the fore. Buckley and O’Leary have shone up front and at the back respectively.