Gerald: the search for natural born thrillers

GERALD McCARTHY is looking to Cork’s Allianz League campaign will unearth three or four players capable of forcing their way onto his championship line-up.

Though hugely successful under Donal O’Grady and John Allen this past four years, the Munster champions have been heavily dependant on a small core of players when push comes to shove later in the season.

Eleven of the players who started the 2003 All-Ireland final defeat to Kilkenny marched behind the Artane Band again last September when Cork lost to their great Leinster rivals.

McCarthy used Cork’s run to the final of the Waterford Crystal competition to great effect, despite eventual defeat to Tipperary, with a number of new faces getting the opportunity to make a lasting impression.

The same will be the case when their league kicks into gear this Sunday with the visit of Offaly to Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

“Quite honestly, we’ll be trying to win every game in the league but the fact is that might not be possible because we will be introducing new players,” said the former Waterford manager. “We will have 30 players on the panel and each of them will have to get the chance to prove themselves in the league. We would be hoping that at least three or four of these players coming in from either the subs’ bench or outside will impact on the championship side this year. We will possibly need that if we are going to be successful.”

Some of the new blood has already been allowed to drain away with the squad having recently been trimmed down from 38 to 30 and, rightly or wrongly, the perception is that any changes that do occur will be in the forward line.

Jonathan O’Callaghan did his prospects little harm with his 1-3 against Tipp two weekends ago and he isn’t the only emerging sharpshooter the Cork manager is hoping to see put up his hand in the weeks ahead.

“It’s much easier to produce good hurling backs than good hurling forwards. Natural hurling forwards come along only now and again but it would be my opinion that there would be maybe three or four (new) players in the forward line who could be successful for Cork.”

The core of the team remains its trump card. McCarthy admitted yesterday that his main reason for taking the job at the second time of asking was the temptation of working with a group of players this talented and dedicated.

It is hard to see either attribute waning any time in the near future but dedication and hunger are different animals and it is often the case that the latter can crumble without the player himself even knowing it.

“We have a great bunch of players, very experienced but there is a big question mark as to whether the hunger is still there.

“Four All-Irelands in a row takes a lot out of a guy so there is that question whether our established players will have that hunger again. They are training very hard. We have got a great response and there has been no indication for me that they will be lacking in hunger when it comes to it.”