Crunching the numbers: To beat Limerick a team must focus on their own basics first and foremost
Opposition players, management, supporters, and pundits still search for a victory blueprint against John Kiely’s outfit. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson
Since Limerick made their breakthrough in 2018, many teams have put in plenty of hours analysing and looking for ways to defeat the Treaty men.
After studying the All-Ireland champions, most people will form the opinion that John Kiely’s men execute the basics of the game and there is no great masterplan to deconstruct.
However, opposition players, management, supporters, and pundits still search for a victory blueprint against John Kiely’s outfit.
To beat Limerick, a team must focus on their basics first and foremost and have these right before even considering the challenge ahead.
The problem is that not many teams have all these basics right and two weeks of preparation in the lead up to a game against Limerick is not enough time to create a plan to take down the Treaty men.
So what are the basics?
Over the last number of years, Limerick are masters of the breaking ball off their own puckout. Limerick have won 52% of the breaking ball over the 2020 and 2021 championship. By comparison, Cork have won 33% of the breaking ball off their long puck outs in that same time period. This area will be a worry for Cork and they cannot rely on their backs to constantly run out with possession from short restarts. The breaking ball off their own puck out is an area that has not improved for Cork in 2021. Indeed, in every championship game this year Cork have lost this battle on the breaking ball.
Limerick’s use of possession has transformed over John Kiely’s reign and the side no longer lose possession by hitting long deliveries from deep inside their own half. In 2017, Limerick averaged 15 long deliveries from inside their 45 yard line per game with a 30% retention rate in the opposition’s half of the pitch. Limerick have reduced their long deliveries to an average of seven per game as they work the ball out of their defence so as to deliver quality ball into their full-forward line from higher up the pitch. The positioning of Kyle Hayes at wing-back and Cian Lynch at centre forward has given the Treaty men an option of running through defences which highlights the hand pass or short stick pass abilities.
In 2017, Cork averaged 14 long deliveries per game from inside their 45-yard line per game with a 35% retention rate in the opposition’s half of the pitch. Cork, like Limerick, reduced their reliance on the long deliveries into their forwards and now only average six deliveries per game. However in the semi-final, the pressure applied by Kilkenny’s forwards resulted in the Rebels hitting 17 long deliveries from inside their 45-yard line. Limerick’s forwards will test Cork’s ability to work the ball out of their defence and deliver the possession which will favour the forward line.
Limerick have been consistently a turnover team that punish teams who try to work their puck out short, run at them into traffic in the middle third or deliver the ball from deep inside their own half.
Limerick have averaged 17 points per game from turnovers in this year’s championship. Cork average 13 points per game from turning over the opposition in possession and this may be one area where they will be confident of attacking Limerick as the Rebels scored 2-12 (18) from turnovers in this year’s league game.
Limerick’s set-up on the opposition’s puck out has been a method of breaking down a team’s spirit and a source of generating scores over the past number of seasons. However their performance in this sector has been below par in 2021.
The 2020 championship saw Limerick average eight points per game off the opposition’s puck out; that figure has been halved to four points per game in this campaign.
Cork, in the 2021 championship, have improved their set-up on the opposition’s puck outs and they have been able to turnover opposition puck outs in the middle third of the pitch. However Cork only scored one point off the Limerick puck out in their Munster championship meeting. This could be an area Cork may struggle in if they do not reset quickly enough or give Limerick a free defender on their puck outs.
Limerick will look to disrupt the Cork puckout and sap the confidence out of the Cork team. Limerick’s set up on the opposition puckout will not be troubled by an extra Cork player in the full back or half- back line as they dealt with this scenario in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Galway.
John Kiely’s men will look to dominate the breaking ball on both sets of long puckouts and attack Cork in waves. Cork will try to run through every line of the Limerick team but this may give the champions the opportunity to impose their physicality on the game.
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