Ben O'Connor believes Cork hurlers should aim for the Allianz Hurling League title this year, emphasizing the value of competitive games and a settled team.
Cork won the last of their 14 League titles back in 1998, the year before O’Connor started his senior career with the Rebels, and have lost five finals in the meantime, the most recent in 2022 to Waterford.
Clare won a League and Championship double last year, something that Limerick also achieved in 2020 and ‘23, and Cork have made good start to their 2025 already, beating Wexford by 15 points last Saturday with Limerick coming to Leeside for a glamour second round tie on Saturday night.READ MORE: Five talking points as Allianz Hurling League returns: New format, Tipperary surge, Galway falter, Cork mean business O’Connor said: "I think you go out to win every game and try to win the League. There are two competitions you play for every year - the League and Championship. Win the League, put that to bed and go after the next one then. “I think there's definitely something to be said about it. You have competitive games. You look at the teams that don't get to the league final, they're looking for challenge matches that weekend. Why not have a proper competitive match? That's my take." The League final takes place two weeks before Cork open their Munster Championship campaign away to Clare on April 20, so there’s no reason for three-time All-Ireland winner O’Connor that they shouldn’t go hard for what would be the first piece of silverware on Par Ryan’s watch. “Was it was a couple of years ago there was a League final played on a Sunday and the first round was played the following weekend? That's not ideal. Once there's a couple of weeks in between, I think it's fine. All counties have big panels now so every fella has game time. It's ideal to blood fellas as well." O’Connor finished a stint as Cork under-20 manager last year after guiding them to an All-Ireland at that grade in 2023 with a number of those players already feeding into what is an increasingly settled senior side. He added: “Last year and the year before, there was a lot of looking at players and seeing what would they do. But I think Pat and the boys now probably have a fair idea. They can pick 12 of their Championship team already, bar no one getting injured. I'd be thinking in my own head that they can pick that, so it's trying to get a settled team as fast as they can. “Last year, our team changed so much from the first round of the League to the last round. And then from the Championship, it kind of settled down after that. I think this year, the main thing is trying to get things settled as fast as you can, get your best team on the field as often as you can, so that they're all playing together and drive it on from there."
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