Hurling folk on Leeside can see chinks of light, writes Peter McNamara.
Times have been bleak in the southern capital with the people’s favourite code suffering a crisis of confidence in the last number of years.
However, the clouds are showing signs of lifting, finally.
The natives were restless, extremely restless in fact. Yet, people are beginning to witness positive steps being taken at underage level with Cork hugely competitive at the U14, U15, U16 and U17 grades.
Further up the inter-county food chain, John Meyler’s addition to Kieran Kingston’s backroom team this year was a clever move by those involved given the former’s managerial role with the U21s.
Effective collaboration and communication between Meyler and Kingston could be the making of both the U21 and senior groups throughout this year and subsequent campaigns.
Folk on the ground are content that the future could yield a rich harvest.
However, the key word there is future.
Cork won the Co-Op Superstores.ie Munster Senior Hurling League final at the Gaelic Grounds last Sunday, a welcome development.
It would be foolhardy for anybody to see it for anything other than the early-season tournament that it was, though.
You can rest assured Kingston and his management team are appreciative of the silverware earned from the Rebels’ defeat of Limerick.
Equally, they know the pending Allianz National Hurling League Division 1 campaign will bear little resemblance to the pre-season competition in terms of physicality and technical quality.
All the same, the process of achieving long-term objectives has begun.
Some supporters will view Cork’s form at present as a possible pre-cursor to more success in 2017.
Of course, there’s never anything wrong with a little positivity surrounding a team, especially one that was lacking in belief.
However, nobody should be blinkered into expecting further returns of significance from Cork this season on the main stage.
Remember, Kingston’s men are 16/1 to ultimately triumph in the league, 14/1 outsiders for provincial glory and, wait for it, 33/1 to land the All-Ireland title.
And before you go consulting your local bookmaker about those prices for fear of a misprint, the odds-compilers are simply not ones for alternative facts.
Nevertheless, Kingston and co are going about their business in the correct fashion.
The Leesiders’ management unit are integrating a host of 19- and 20-year-olds into the senior group utilising a visionary approach to their time in charge of the team.
If we are being totally honest, Kingston is probably thinking of 2018 and 2019 even more than he is 2017 because he’s a realist and knows the fabled ‘mushroom’ theory is pie in the sky.
Were Kingston to indeed be of that mindset he should be encouraged to maintain and nurture that thought-process.
Otherwise, were the current management to be all about the here and now and blasé regarding the future they would be doing the code in the county a disservice.
In fact, Kingston’s extensive understanding of the overall landscape of the game at the grade in question is probably his greatest strength.
This is so due to the fact it will allow him to truly gauge Cork’s progress through the cold analysis of reality.
The people of Cork have been starved of hurling success, the management are only too aware of this fact.
However, what good would it do for the present management group to deploy the status quo when the league commences next weekend, for instance?
What would they learn from doing that, sending out the vast majority of same operators that have essentially had their chance to prove themselves?
No, Kingston and Cork need to have one eye on the future. And they do, too.
With that in mind, it is highly likely at least one-third of the starting 15 next Saturday week against Clare in Páirc Uí Rinn will comprise of U21s and really inexperienced players.
Blarney defender Mark Coleman, Charleville midfielder Darragh Fitzgibbon, Newcestown half-forward Luke Meade and Douglas wing-forward Shane Kingston should all, for example, feature from the off against the Banner men.
Each of those four players have contributed handsomely to Cork thus far and should be rewarded with starting berths in the first major outing of the campaign.
In fact, you can expect that quartet to feature regularly throughout the league barring injuries.
And what players such as Coleman, Fitzgibbon, Meade and Kingston will add to the dynamic is a fearlessness attributed to those without the baggage of the past hanging over them.
Individuals with youth on their side tend to hurl with a freedom and belief which can be eroded in others that have soldiered through more taxing times.
Cork require such impetus on this winding road.
Given Kingston is most likely to drive on with the younger brigade getting plenty of game-time, results may not always be ideal.
Actually, there might be a day or two whereby Cork are torched by a more experienced opponent. But what of it? After all, it’s the only way they will really learn their trade.
However, what is so important throughout this season is that the public exercise patience.
In fairness, said commodity has evaporated entirely for a lot of people. Understandable, too. Still, it is clear now the Rebels possess the structure within their management and playing groups to facilitate real progress.
What’s happening currently is Cork are kick-starting a process of hard-lined evolution.
There would have been a realisation in the off-season that repeating the same tricks and hoping for improved results in 2017 would be a form of madness.
Instead, thrusting in the younger, fresher legs and keeping them included is now known to be imperative.
There are 12 U21s on the senior panel which bodes well for seasons to come assuming the belief in those youngsters is well-founded. And it should be.
Derek McGrath’s reasoning for adopting the same strategy in Waterford was initially questioned by some too. Yet, look at the position the Déise are in now, regularly mentioned as potential All-Ireland contenders this year.
So Kingston’s logic is sound.
Cork, at last, are truly back on the right track.
