Steven Sherlock of Cork after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between between Cork and Limerick at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

CORK gained valuable experience from facing all four 2002 All-Ireland senior football championship semi-finalists over the past couple of months.

Keith Ricken, John Cleary and the Cork senior management team have plenty of video to analyse as part of their planning process for 2023.

The Cork management team will no doubt use GPS readings, statistical and written analysis of every game completed during the Rebels’ National League, Munster and All-Ireland campaigns.

Interestingly, Cork ended up facing this year’s All-Ireland finalists, Galway and Kerry, as well as the losing semi-finalists, Derry and Dublin, at various junctures.

Those matches against this year’s final four highlighted areas that need addressing but also slivers of hope as the Cork senior’s rebuilding process continues.

Cork travelled to Owenbeg for a National League Division 2 meeting in late February. 

Blooding an experimental line-up including players such as Billy Hennessy, Fionn Herlihy, Shane Merritt and David Buckley, the visitors could have little argument with Derry’s 1-13 to 0-7 win.

An inability to keep the scoreboard ticking over, albeit in extremely difficult weather conditions, saw Cork fail to score for nearly 25 minutes of the first half and not until the 50-minute mark of the second.

Scoring lulls are something the Cork senior footballers have to address. 

All four of this year’s All-Ireland semi-finalists, when under the cosh or starved of possession for long spells, found ways to engineer scores.

Cork’s issue is not possessing enough quality finishers. Far from it with Steven Sherlock, Brian Hurley and Cathail O’Mahony around. 

The issue is getting the ball into those forwards and scoring zones even if under sustained pressure from the opposition.

Padraig Joyce brought his All-Ireland finalists to Leeside for a Division 2 clash back in March. 

An unexpectedly high-scoring shootout ensued as the two teams served up 44 scores.

The main headlines emanating from a convincing 3-22 to 2-17 Galway victory included Shane Walsh (2-7) and Damien Comer’s (1-1) performances. 

That aforementioned duo have lit up Galway’s run to this year’s All-Ireland decider. 

Both Walsh and Comer were in scintillating form at Páirc Uí Chaoimh that day.

Steven Sherlock’s 0-10 and Cork’s ability to respond to six-point gaps on two separate occasions were welcome developments. 

Kicking 2-17 against Galway was no mean feat either. Yet, Cork’s failure to prevent the winners from pouring through the middle of their defence (a recurring theme throughout the league) for scores meant there would only be one outcome.

That’s why an injury-free Seán Meehan occupying the centre-back role is absolutely crucial for Cork next year. 

Meehan’s presence would also free up Rory Maguire and Mattie Taylor, two of Cork’s most consistent performers this past year, to push further forward when the opportunities arise.

In May, the Rebels’ Munster semi-final loss to Kerry sparked plenty of debate. Páirc Uí Rinn witnessed an encouraging 50-minute showing from a Cork team belying their underdog status before eventually succumbing to a 0-23 to 0-11 loss.

The biggest takeaway from that encounter against one of this year’s All-Ireland finalists was the strength of Jack O’Connor’s bench. 

Game-changers like David Moran and Paul Geaney were sprung late on to tilt the balance in Kerry’s favour.

Cork are well aware they need four or five similar game-changers off the bench next season. 

The likes of Conor Corbett, Brian Hayes and (possibly) Mark Keane are three examples of individuals that could change a match if called upon as substitutes next term.

Building a panel that contains quality substitutes has benefitted All-Ireland finalists Kerry and Galway. 

Cork need a similar setup if progress is to be made in 2023.

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