Hiney jumping from frying pan into the fire

IF there is one man who can identify with Diarmuid O’Sullivan’s decision this year to pull the plug on his Cork inter-county career, it’s Dublin’s Stephen Hiney.

Hiney is a rock-like figure, ticking all the full back boxes. The problem though is that in his heart, Hiney is a player who yearns for open space where he’d have more freedom to really express himself.

Like Cork’s erstwhile Rock, Hiney has never been confined to the edge of the square with his club, and this year, having served his time with his county, he has been given his release by new manager Anthony Daly.