SEANIE MCGRATH IS well-placed to judge the loss of Donal Óg Cusack to the Cork senior hurling squad for this season.
The Cloyne man’s campaign ground to a halt when his Achilles tendon snapped in the early stages of their league semi-final victory over Tipperary in April.
McGrath served in the trenches with Cusack during his playing days as they enjoyed All-Ireland senior success together in 1999.
Now the current selector and the rest of the Cork management team face a major task when selecting a goalkeeper in the team that will be announced tonight for next Sunday’s Munster semi-final.
“You’re missing your captain and your talisman,” McGrath told TheScore.ie ahead of the clash with Tiperary. ”Everyone has huge respect for him but he’d be the one guy who’d be the first to back whoever will replace him. Martin (Coleman) was very unlucky in the league game against Kilkenny but he’s trained well since. It’s a huge call but we feel though any of the three can do a job.
“But we’d be stressing beyond the goalkeepers that it’s a panel game. You look at the Tipperary match against Limerick, the impact Shane McGrath and Seamus Callanan had when they came on. They’re all class hurlers and obviously Declan Ryan had them in the right frame of mind when they came on. The challenge is to get the mental attitude of the whole panel right.”
Despite the crushing defeat they suffered against Kilkenny in last month’s league final, McGrath is pleased with attitude that has been shown by the Cork squad in response to that setback.
“It has been very good and that’s easier said than done. We’ve all had bad days when we’ve been substituted. We would make allowances if a guy came in and was in bad form. These are all amateur players. A guy could have a bad day at work and the last thing he wants is for us to be shouting at him on the Monday or Tuesday night.
“But I can’t emphasise enough that all our lads have been unbelievable. The Friday after the Kilkenny match, we got together, Jimmy (Barry-Murphy) had a few words, we went out onto the field and had a really positive training session. As a speaker and motivator, Jimmy is second to none.
“He is very clear though that on the field it is the players who must perform. He can’t hold their hand and he gives them the independence. He gives the message to players that the way you respond from bad days is a testament to you and the team.”
Cork have altered the make-up of their panel since the league final. Goalkeeper Darren McCarthy, defender Killian Murphy and the attacking pair of Seamus Harnedy and Stephen Moylan have all been rewarded for their performances on this year’s UCC Fitzgibbon Cup winning side by being handed the chance to impress.
In addition Midleton defender James Nagle and Carrigtwohill forward Robert White have both featured in recent challenge games as well. The Cork team will be announced tonight and there will definitely be at least one change from the league final loss with Niall McCarthy marked absent through injury.
