Sunday sleepers
If Clare suspect they must find another level to bridge the eight-point Munster semi-final gap, they will hope to count on Conlon for some of that differential. When the Clonlara attacker gathered his thoughts in hospital following the concussion that finished his June business in the early minutes, he thought he had scored four points.
It’s the kind of return we had come to expect. But while Conlon has played his part in shunting Clare back on track, further knocks have limited his contributions and he hasn’t threatened that kind of tally since. Departed early again in the semi-final with another injury. But if he’s healthy and can stay that way, his ball-winning ability and accuracy could leave Cork groggy.
When Cork travelled to Sixmilebridge for a Waterford Crystal Cup semi-final in February, heavy traffic ensured the Douglas man — and several other Cork players — didn’t arrive until half-time. When the sides met at the Gaelic Grounds in June, Moylan didn’t make it until the interval, making way for Jamie Coughlan on the half-hour and losing his starting place in the process.
But he contributed a valuable point towards the dethroning, upon his arrival for Lorcan McLoughlin against Kilkenny, and also sank the final nail in Dublin’s coffin the last day. Has seen enough ups and downs to take his chance should he arrive late in the day once more.
Made the best recent case for expanding Hawk-Eye’s brief to Thurles, when his wide for the U21s against Galway got a scoreboard credit it didn’t deserve.
But the Ennis tyro has earned all the other plaudits that have come his way in his breakout year. The find of Davy Fitzgerland’s league scheming, O’Donnell plundered a crucial second-half goal against Waterford to knock the first domino in Clare’s year of growing momentum. An important weapon in Fitzgerland’s impressive back-up firepower.
No showpiece would be that without a quick healer winning a race against nature. And the Bride Rovers defender takes that mantle this year, shaking off his collarbone woes earlier than expected to collar one of Clare’s danger men.
Since most of Murphy’s assignments have tended to be of the high profile variety, Tony Kelly might expect a reprise of the close attentions he endured in June, when the young Clare man had his least profitable afternoon of the summer. Of course, miracle recoveries have been known to backfire on the biggest days, but Murphy has, at least, returned to club action and his experience of those big days meant this was a gamble JBM had to take.
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