Where will Liam MAcCarthy be heading this year?

Ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC showdown between Cork and Clare, Shaun Casey asked three players from the province for their take on the big day

Gerard Gilmore (Donegal)

GOING on recent results, they are the best two teams in Ireland. Cork put in a massive performance against Limerick which was great to see because this past two or three years it’s been Kilkenny and Limerick in the final.

It’s good for hurling that there’s somebody different in it this year. I would say Cork’s coming off the bigger high from the semi-final results because they put on a massive 70 minutes. It was a massive result for Cork.

Clare will be going in quiet enough because I’d say they’ll be disappointed with their first-half performance against Kilkenny. That said, they put in a really good second half and if they can sustain that performance for 70 minutes, it should be a cracking final.

I do see Clare coming out on top funny enough. I think they’re coming in under the radar after the semi-final having not performed well in the first half, so I’m sure they’re getting their heads down now and are very focused on an improved performance.

Everyone’s been chatting with Cork after beating Limerick, but I do think it will be very close. To me it depends on how Clare’s big players perform like Shane O’Donnell and Tony Kelly and John Conlon.

It’ll go down to the wire but I think Clare will edge it by two or three points. As long as it’s a good game I don’t mind who wins at the end of the day.

Verdict: Clare

Sean Óg Grogan (Tyrone)

IF you look at the Clare side, Shane O’Donnell is the guy that makes things happen but the last day Aidan McCarthy, who probably has his critics, was 100 per cent on the frees.

I think everybody’s really waiting for Tony Kelly to explode because he has just simmered along this championship. When he’s on fire, he’s unbelievable so I think Clare will be really looking for Tony to have a big impact.

Looking at Cork the last day, all their forwards as a unit were so hungry and their tackling and their work rate was brilliant. I really think that stems from Alan Connolly inside, he really makes them tick.

I think Alan’s going to have a big say in the game. He’s so direct, he gets goals which is massively important, and that’s one of the main reasons why I think Cork will win.

When Cork got the goal the last day against Limerick, it sent a serious amount of energy in the team and you could feel that they took serious confidence from it.

I actually picked Cork earlier on in the year and I’m not going to change horse now.

Funnily enough that stemmed from the league game where Clare beat them, I just remember thinking if there’s any team that can beat Limerick, it’s going to be Cork.

It’s not going to be easy, but I just think Cork’s going to come out on top of this one with just a few points to spare.

Verdict: Cork

Daithi Sands (Down)

HOPEFULLY the game is something similar to the Cork and Limerick semi-final – both teams just going at it, high scoring, a couple of goals. I think you have to say that Cork and Clare are the two best teams in the country.

With the two performances Cork put up against Limerick this year, they definitely deserve to be there on merit. The same with Clare, Kilkenny’s had one up on them over the past couple of years in the semi-finals, so to get over the line against them is massive. I’d say definitely this year, the two best teams are in the final.

Cork stopped Limerick in the drive for five which was massive, and you also have to consider that it was a brilliant performance in front of a packed house at Croke Park so they must be on a massive high coming into the final.

That’ll be the only concern in a way though, will they be able to come back down and then get back up to those levels again in the short turnaround of two weeks? I hope they can. I kind of have a soft spot for them because of Joe Deane in the noughties.

I hope it’s Cork, and I think if they play anywhere close to what they did against Limerick in the semi-final, they will win it. Clare won’t be easy beat with the form Shane O’Donnell is in as well, but hopefully it’s Cork to seize the day.

Verdict: Cork