Settled cores propel Cork and Meath to top of Division 2

Cork and Meath will both go into Sunday's clash at Páirc Uí Rinn viewing the game as a promotion decider

Robbie Brennan's Meath are living up to the targets Colm O'Rourke set out for the county when he took over as Royals manager in 2022. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

One of Colm O'Rourke's first acts as Meath manager was to put it up to Dublin.

"I would regard that we will have failed if we don't beat Dublin," he said immediately after his appointment in July, 2022.

A few months later, he doubled down on that and said that Meath should be competing with Dublin and challenging for Leinster titles. Straight away.

And when they beat Cork in his very first League game, at the start of 2023 in Cork, the same fixture as crops up again this Sunday, it appeared the Meath legend had clicked his fingers and conjured stardust.

Yet discount the Tailteann Cup and Meath only won four of their subsequent 19 League and Championship games under O'Rourke. And by the time things bottomed out for O'Rourke with four Championship defeats in a row to end 2024, he was pleading for patience and talking about the long-term nature of the assignment of developing a new Meath team.

"I think it's going to take five years so I might as well stay that long," O'Rourke said in his GAAGO interview after the 2024 All-Ireland group stage loss to Monaghan.

He didn't get another game though and was effectively shoved out to allow for Robbie Brennan's arrival.

The really striking thing now is that after just one season under Brennan, with the same figure of 19 League and Championship games under his belt, Meath now look one of the most settled teams in the entire country. And a team capable of thriving and living up to the targets initially laid down by O'Rourke in 2022.

"I really firmly believe that Meath should be in the top four or five counties in Ireland, every year," said O'Rourke back then. "Because of our population, our good structures."

O'Rourke also said in that GAAGO interview that while Meath had an abundance of young talent, they lacked experience.

Brennan addressed that by hauling Bryan Menton out of apparent retirement, and partnering him up with Jack Flynn, who'd sat out most of O'Rourke's last season. Seamus Lavin missed the entire O'Rourke era but Brennan bought him back too. When fit, all three have started every game so far for Brennan and Flynn in particular is arguably the name most mentioned throughout the football world so far this year given his man of the match performance against Derry and match-winning two-pointers against Cavan and Louth.

With a dozen different players starting all of Meath's League games so far this season, they are up there with Donegal, their conquerors in last year's All-Ireland semi-final, as the most settled side in the Sam Maguire Cup race. For the record, Donegal have fielded 11 players in all three of their Division 1 games so far. Kerry are on 10 in that regard. The most settled side in Division 1? Armagh, as it happens, with just 22 players used so far and 13 of those lining out in every game.

Back in Division 2, only eight of the 26 players that Cork have fielded in their three games so far have started every game. Which is quite the change of tack from John Cleary who went with a nearly identical team for the first three games of last year's campaign.

The availability of Steven Sherlock, who has started the last two games, has shifted things up a little. Dara Sheedy has featured in all three games so far, coming on twice and starting against Offaly. A fully fit Cathail O'Mahony gives another exciting option up front.

What both Cork and Meath have in common is a settled core, which has propelled them to joint top spot in Division 2, and to a stage where they are both viewing Sunday's Páirc Uí Rinn summit as a promotion decider. Meath, having already beaten Derry, perhaps deserve to view it in those terms a little moreso than Cork who have a devilishly difficult ending to the campaign with trips to Derry and Tyrone sandwiching a tie against a strong Kildare.

"Cork in fairness are playing some great football," said former Cork defender Noel O'Leary. "Even going back to the McGrath Cup, there's just stability there. The panel is settled and that makes a big difference.

"Going back to the last day against Offaly, how many times over the last few years were Cork expected to win those kinds of games and the result went the other way? They were well in command against Offaly and just did their job. That's a sign of a good team and a sign of a team that has momentum."

Sherlock is sitting on 0-17 so far for Cork while Mark Cronin has 1-13 amassed from three games. Colm O'Callaghan's two goals helped secure the win against Offaly while Sean McDonnell has weighed in with at least a point in each outing.

"Cork are playing an exciting brand of football and where the game is on will only add to the occasion," said O'Leary, referencing the fact that Cork will play at Páirc Uí Rinn for the first time in two seasons.