Emmet Moloney writes for the 'Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

The quest for the Liam McCarthy cup kicks off in earnest this weekend and The Sunday Game is back for real. Emmet Moloney will be watching the action in Semple Stadium.

We all feel the tingle at this time of the year. Cork and Tipp in Thurles. So much at stake. Atmosphere to burn. The struggle to find parking. Maybe two pints before going in. The teams come out, and the roar will greet them, and hopefully there will be no tunnel incidents. The parade. Those seconds when the referee is telling the midfielders to move back, because he’s ready to throw in. After they don’t move back, and instead move forward, like all Munster hurling championship matches, he throws in anyway. And we’re away.

Tipperary will beat Cork. It surely can’t go any other way. But this is Cork, and you can’t trust them when they are underdogs. And this is the Munster championship. Almost all bets are off. But not quite.

Never have Tipp and Cork entered a championship match with such differing build-ups. Cork have had the winter of all discontents, while Tipp have recently shown they are a real threat to Kilkenny this year. All that could go up in smoke in 70 action-packed minutes. That’s what will bring 40,000 to Semple Stadium.

Cork are still not happy campers. Don’t think the resignation of Gerald McCarthy has solved much. Denis Walsh was not the preferred option for the players, and nothing seems to have changed in the GAA landscape down Leeside. Frank Murphy will still be hovering around the dugout, and the ghost of Gerald still haunts the squad.

He’ll haunt them even more if they don’t perform on Sunday. Cork’s first championship match has to be one in which they lay down some form of marker. While motivation should never be a problem for games like this, a bad defeat will make this a very long summer for the Rebels. While the public eventually came down on their side in the McCarthy wars, they are a fickle lot. A hammering will see some of that support turn into contempt. Cork have to step up.

On the field, they have problems. Most of these are in the forward line. It is hard to see where their scores are going to come from. As things stand, Ben O’Connor is the main threat. His brother Jerry and Tom Kenny are the runners from midfield, and the really threatening stuff flows from them.

As I write, no team has been named. There is speculation that John Gardiner will appear at full-back and Aisake Ó hAilpín will wear the number 14 jersey. Gardiner is not so much of a risk, but Aisake will be. Tipp in Thurles is not the ideal spot to make your championship bow. He might be held in reserve. Speaking of the subs’ bench, what a pity we will be deprived of the sight of Diarmuid O’Sullivan at the edge of the Tipp square. What a thrill that would have been! Imagine him rolling onto the field with 20 minutes to go and Cork in the middle of a comeback. How many shoulders would he have to hit before he even got to Conor O’Mahony?

But back to the living. From one to 11, Cork can stay with Tipp, but it’s after that they might be in trouble. The camp is not 100%, and that has to have an effect.
Liam Sheedy’s camp is flying. Their performance in the league final proved that – to the country and to themselves. In McGrath, Woodlock and Callinan, they have young guns who look the part. Lar Corbett and Michael Webster look rejuvenated. They come into this game on a wet sail.

Then there is Eoin Kelly. If this was a knockout with no parachute available, then I am sure Kelly would be risked. But it isn’t, so I’d be surprised to see him start. What a replacement to have warming up!

The conspiracy theory merchants can forget the loose talk of the back door suiting whoever loses on Sunday. Clare await the winners, and there is a Munster championship beckoning. Not risking Eoin Kelly at the start is probably the only sop to the qualifiers. Tipp will be fully fired up, and so will Cork. Tyrone and Armagh? Well, that’s another story.

Expect timber and expect it early. Cork will have watched the league final and the manliness on show that day will have appealed to quite a few of them. You can just imagine John Gardiner and Ronan Curran thinking: “Just try that stuff on me and see where it gets you!”

It’s one thing to think it; it’s another to survive it. Unluckily for Tipp, the referee may be hard on them to begin with. But that shouldn’t bother them unduly, because they have hurlers to burn.

The Rebels bullied Galway out of it last summer at the same venue, so they won’t back away either, but can they match Tipp’s scoring potential? The short answer is “No.”
This game will follow the pattern of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final between the Rebels and the Cats. Cork will live with Tipperary for a while, maybe even into the second half. But the home side have too much firepower, too much momentum and probably too much purpose for Cork.

The manner of Cork’s defeat will define their season – and some of their players. If it’s a ragged loss, then expect more public washing of dirty linen. But now Denis Walsh holds the whip hand. Senior players could leave the panel. A moral victory will keep the ship afloat. Fighting to the finish and maintaining discipline while losing by four or five points is a realistic and encouraging target.

Tipperary are the second team in the country. They have ambitions to be the first. They are a proud hurling county. Sunday is a chance to keep Cork down. Tipp men don’t pass up chances like that. Throw it in, ref, and let them get on with it.

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