Corkery’s reign as captain over

ALTHOUGH Colin Corkery led Nemo Rangers to victory for the second successive year when they beat Bishopstown in the Cork SFC final on Sunday, he will not captain Cork next season.

“There is a rule in Nemo which stipulates that a player may only captain the club for two years. My term as captain is over and whoever Nemo appoint for the coming season will automatically captain Cork next year.”

Of his Cork captaincy, Corkery said: “It was disappointing to lose, in the manner in which we did, to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.

“I think we were a bit naive and lulled into a false sense of security after winning the Munster championship. Over the campaign we were not consistent and we were unable to handle the atmosphere that the revamped Croke Park poses for all teams.”

Naturally, he would love to win an All-Ireland senior medal but it is not his priority: “My big aim is to win an All-Ireland club medal with Nemo. We have lost the last two finals and I would give anything to be on the rostrum at Croke Park on St Patrick’s day with the lads I grew up with.”

With a record 32nd county senior hurling title safely under wraps, Waterford champions Mount Sion are turning their attentions to the upcoming Munster club championship, determined to emulate the feat of arch rivals Ballygunner who won the provincial title with victory over Cork’s Blackrock last December.

Manager Jim Greene an unapologetic hard task master, will be gathering his troops together this week to plan and prepare their assault on that Munster title with Adare or Ahane, who meet in next Sunday’s Limerick decider, the first round opposition at Walsh Park on October 27.

“We haven’t given it even a passing thought until now, but with the priority objective of regaining our county title accomplished we are determined to give the Munster campaign our very best shot,” Greene said.

Mount Sion was the first Waterford club to bring that provincial title to the Decies in 1981, and there was no further success until the Gunners made the breakthrough last December.

“We would dearly love to emulate Ballygunner’s feat, and in the year when Waterford regained the Munster senior hurling championship after a lapse of 39 years, victory in the provincial club campaign would round off a very special year for Waterford hurling.”

Greene said they will have a get together, more for a general chat than anything else, before the end of this week, and next week resume full training for that October 27 date with the Limerick champions.

Fulsome in his praise of the commitment of his players since the start of the year, Greene said their training sessions totalled 99 and they had played 25 games including, championship, tournament, and challenge.

“With so many players (seven) involved with the county senior team we weren’t always in an ideal situation as far as the club was concerned,” Greene said. “However our county players did their very best to divide themselves in two as it were, and they certainly reaped their just reward last Sunday.”

Greene rated Sunday’s title win “one of the sweetest of them all”. He said they were facing not only the defending county champions but also the reigning Munster kingpins and they knew the Gunners wouldn’t surrender those two titles “without one almighty defence of them”.

“Things may have been looking bleak for them at half time but on the turnover they proved yet again what great champions they were,” Greene said. “We were relieved to hear the final whistle, and that’s just about the best tribute I can pay the Gunners.”