Seánie McGrath: Sars are so fine-tuned, so dialed in - that's testament to Crowley and Co

Pat Horgan, Chairperson of Cork GAA with David Cremin of Midleton and Bryan Murphy of Sarsfields, ahead of the Premier SHC final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Jim Coughlan

For the first time since 2019, I’ll be on the sideline for Cork hurling final weekend.

My involvement six years ago was as a selector with Glen Rovers in the main event, this time around it is with the Aghabullogue intermediates.

But irrespective of whether it is your own club or one you’ve formed a connection with, and irrespective of the grade, it’s a magical time of the year to be involved.

Even for those outside the playing panel and management group, you see how a county final lifts the underage teams and all the colour they provide. Then there’s people with no relation to the club and they’re ringing you to see how Aghabullogue are fixed for Saturday. Just a savage, savage time.

And it took being back immersed in county final week to realise how much I missed that buzz, excitement, and anticipation when counting down to the decider.

Result aside, to even be part of the final two makes the toil, time, and effort put in throughout the year worthwhile because I do wonder, sometimes, if people really get what goes into a club set-up and progressing a team, no matter the grade, to the last day.

Everyone knows about the relentless nature of inter-county preparation, but the club scene isn't that far behind.

Aghabullogue are a dual club, and with the lads having had a football semi-final last weekend, you’re fearful of injuries being picked up so close to the big day. You’re acutely aware of how taxing that game against Naomh Abán was and so you’re trying to keep them finely tuned and sharp this week without overdoing the physical stuff.

But don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic worries to have. That’s what gets the butterflies going, that’s where the thrill is. This is why you get back involved when you finish playing.

Anyways, enough about the personal. Most came to this corner to read about Sars, Midleton, matchups, and where Seán Óg Murphy might end up.

All week Sars will have been scrutinising how they’re going to curtail seven-point semi-final contributor Pa White. There’ll have been similar attention paid to Tommy O’Connell’s influence and how he raises standards around him.

Tommy O'Connell (right) is one man who can put a dent in Sars. Picture: Dan Linehan

For Micheál Keohane, sleepless nights about Jack O’Connor being in the form of his life, the directness of young Barry O’Flynn, and the boundless energy of Cian Darcy.

All that worry and opposition-planning is necessary, but it cannot overshadow or take from accentuating your own team’s strengths and communicating to your players how we intend to exact the best of ourselves and, in the process, impart our game on them.

The same as every other Cork hurling final conversation this week, there is no getting away from the massive losses Eoin Moloney and Conor Lehane are to the Midleton cause.

For their 2013 and 2021 final wins, Lehane was the hero with 2-10 and 0-13 respectively. Hero again the last day when, on half a leg, he nailed the winning free into the breeze.

What he provides to Midleton - both from play and placed-ball - is virtually impossible to replace.

My best guess in how they will attempt to compensate for his loss centres on using Luke O’Farrell from the off. The one other avenue they might travel is bringing half-back Ross O’Regan up the field to where he operated before 2025. His seven points from play across their last two county final appearances demonstrates his proven track record for this occasion.

For all that, the freetaker call is nearly as important as the two personnel changes.

The matchday attention Conor commanded reduced the focus and pressure on his forward colleagues. The inverse of that is now the case. I can see Micheál Keohane imploring upon his players the requirement to step up collectively and to step in centre stage.

To Sars. Given where their trajectory is now at, it’s a case of much of the same.

What Midleton will be hoping to extract from their panel Sars have got in abundance in recent games.

Donal English and Barry O’Flynn have been outstanding since promotion to the first team at different stages of this championship. Luke Hackett and the returning Eoghan Murphy, while not wearing the debutant tag of the younger pair, are two more plucked from the intermediate side who’ve proceeded to make notable contributions off the bench.

There’s not a club in Cork that could so comfortably deal with the loss of a player of such quality as Cathal McCarthy as Sars have. They are just so fine-tuned, so dialed in to their individual jobs and the collective style they want to execute, and that’s testament to Johnny Crowley, the Rock, and the rest of the sideline.

Sars’ running game and off-the-shoulder overlapping need to be met with manic intensity and an insatiable appetite for work, otherwise Midleton are going to be scalded.

The encouraging sign for Midleton is these are hallmarks of the current side. I noted Blackrock boss Jamie Harrington mention the last day how hard Midleton swarmed and bunched, which led to a lot of congested play. They’re not the biggest team, but clearly don’t lack for physicality in close quarters.

What Midleton simply cannot do, above all else, is let Sars build the five and six-point lead they had to peg back in the quarter and semi-final.

If Sars again get their mojo going, a second county in three years is in store.