Cork SFC final: New rules have cleared the stage for footballers like Mark Cronin

Nemo's Mark Cronin takes possession against St. Michael's at Shanbally. Picture: David Creedon

The same as when he decides to press go and collect possession on the loop, Mark Cronin’s timing in 2025 has been second-perfect.

The introduction of the new rules arrived in tandem with his promotion to the Cork starting line-up. A sustained run in red at the very moment the stage was being cleared of suffocating double sweepers.

To use his own words, consistent exposure to that higher standard of football forced him to deliver a higher standard everyday he went out.

Returning to local matters, and to use our words here, not Mark’s, he was an improved and more confident footballer. That this is now a game designed for footballer first, athlete second means opposition defences know they must stalk and strictly police Mark Cronin.

At the end of regulation time in their semi-final gripper against Newcestown, and the men from Trabeg chasing an equaliser, the West Cork outfit were so fixated on Cronin and making sure he hadn’t the space to collect a Conor Horgan pass that they left the door ajar for Horgan to go himself and land the leveler.

That extra-time semi-final was the latest example of Cronin’s priceless value to this Nemo set-up.

He swung over a two-pointer inside 39 seconds. He finished the opening half with a point off his non-favoured right. He assisted both second-half goals. He won an extra-time free that he converted himself. He was both a kickpass outlet on the counter and the player who sat patiently outside the arc when Nemo packed bodies inside, waiting to collect and create a one-on-one with whatever defender was watching him.

“Even the space alone is great,” the 25-year-old physio begins in discussing the game’s new parameters.

“At the time, you probably didn't realise how bad the game was, because you're in it, and you live it.

“As soon as you're shown something else, it's nearly a breath of fresh air. You'd be doing video-analysis and you'd look back at games from last year, and you're saying if they ever went back, you'd have to question things.

“Some of the level of football, as I said, I didn't realise how bad it was, but you could go to a game of football before and if you didn't watch 20 minutes, you mightn’t have missed anything, whereas now it's so end-to-end and that's great.

“Even our game against Newcestown, end-to-end stuff, and it's not nice when you're playing it, but it's exactly the way we want the game to be.”

With Cronin supported by Bryan Hayes and the aforementioned Conor Horgan, not to mind the driving middle third assistance of Barry Cripps and Briain Murphy, while the Barrs aim to Steven Sherlock and Brian Hayes, Sunday’s Cork football final should, in theory, be more chaotic than cagey.

Concluding Sundays such as that of two years ago when the Haven and Nemo were tied at 0-4 apiece come half-time, and the heavy-duty decider produced just 20 scores in total, is scarcely imaginable in the current climate.

“The new rules suit footballers. There was probably a trend in football for a while where you were an athlete first, and then you got your skills after, whereas now we're kind of slowly getting back towards the skills first and then you can work on fitness after, which is huge, because it suits kicking players. It's just so much better.” 

Each one of Cronin’s football memories are draped in black and green. His first time in Croke Park was the 2008 All-Ireland club final defeat to Vincent’s.

He quickly latched onto Nemo thinking, describing the five years without a county title from 2010-15 as a famine. He does not want to have to find a description for any third consecutive county final defeat.

“You can't take it for granted, and it's times like that, that you don't have the finals, even as a young fella, that you do realise how much they mean to the club and how much they mean to everyone. I remember in 2015, seeing lads crying on the pitch after, old men, that's when it hits home.

“It's nice to be there and never take it for granted. The more you do it, the more you enjoy it. You enjoy the two weeks’ build-up. It's great for fellas who are in the club, and it's nice as players too to be involved. It's better to be involved than not be involved.”

True, and yet Nemo never got to Sunday simply to be involved.

CORK GAA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Your home  for all the latest news, match reports, features, opinions and expert analysis from the Cork Club Championships.

CORK GAA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Your home  for all the latest news, match reports, features, opinions and expert analysis from the Cork GAA Club Championships.