Rebel hopes rest on Harnedy’s fitness

The door to Cork’s success may hinge on the fitness of Seamus Harnedy.

Clare’s half-back line ensured their All Star candidacy en masse in the drawn final but on this fallow ground around the 40, Harnedy still produced almost as much as Podge Collins at the other end.

No doubt the Cratloe man exhibited some splendid skills, his pirouetting point off the stick in the 44th minute being the highlight, but the St Ita’s star was even more productive in terms of how much his team created. Of the 3-16 tallied by Cork, he was directly responsible for 39% of that; Collins, for Clare, had a hand in 36% of the 0-25 accrued.

The Banner’s total came from 43 attempts at the target, with Collins involved in 10 scoring opportunities for a return of 0-9. That figure comprises points (0-3), assists (0-1) and converted frees won (0-5). Harnedy’s return is lower in terms of what actually went up on the scoreboard but was marginally more crucial to his team. Of the 29 chances his team created, he scored two points, assisted for two more, and won three points worth of converted frees. That’s 0-7 of 3-16. Not only that, but Anthony Nash also failed to convert a penalty brilliantly won by the half-forward in the 60th minute.

Collins had won a free 13 minutes earlier that Colin Ryan miscued so, had both of these placed balls been scored, we’re talking about a Banner attacker involved in 0-10 and a Cork man responsible for 1-7. That’s a sensational set of returns for two All-Ireland final debutants.

Collins has shown more consistency this season though, explaining why he is shorter odds for Hurler of the Year and joint favourite for the younger version. In the semi-final against Limerick, the Cratloe man’s productivity was 1-6 (three points, two frees converted and 1-1 assists) and, in the quarter-final win over Galway, it was 0-5 (four points, and one free converted).

Harnedy has consistently performed well for Cork but his productivity drops off from 0-7 in the final to 0-4 against Dublin (two points, one frees converted and one assist) and 0-2 (a point and a free converted) in the win over Kilkenny.

Harnedy was still a stellar performer against the Cats and it’s clear from the numbers he is becoming as effective at the sharp end of the field as Collins. He is entitled to feel he has Clare’s number, having scored 0-3 in a man of the match display on his championship debut in a Munster semi-final against Davy Fitzgerald’s side on June 23.

The hope is that Cian McCarthy’s promotion from the bench will aid Harnedy’s battle for primary possession against a dominant half-back line. The Sars man, who came off as quick as he went on in the drawn final three weeks ago, scored 0-1 in last year’s semi-final defeat to Galway before being withdrawn off at half-time, but he was also involved in two more points for the Rebels.

The problem for Cork is this time finding enough attackers to hold their own against a Clare unit making plenty of openings but just not closing it out. Harnedy and Collins, who also scored 0-5 in that provincial clash between the sides, could well decide this game. Both have the numbers to suggest so.