Q&A: John Power and Brian Corcoran

What were your expectations for this year's championship?

What is your earliest hurling memory?

What was your most memorable match?

Who was your most difficult opponent?

Do you believe inter-county players should be rewarded?

Quotes for John Power

"Hard to know. I wanted to get back on the panel but wasn't sure if I'd make it. The management put no pressure on me, gave me plenty of time to get it right and I appreciated that."

"I suppose the earliest of all was coming in to see the lads train before the '79 All-Ireland. I saw Eddie Keher one day in the garden centre in Kilkenny. I was only a young lad and I'd say I spent the whole day staring at him. You'd have been in so much awe of these fellas and you turn around and you're in the same position yourself."

"It was from one stepping stone to the next. You could say Laois for me because it was my first championship game in two years. I was marking Paul Cuddy that day but that didn't answer the call because it was only Laois. We won so well against Offaly that the question mark was still there. Clare was a big test because they're proven men and now the next day will be a bigger test because Brian (Corcoran) is the best centre back in the game."

"The first 20 minutes of the Laois game was the toughest. It was hard to get into the stride of things. I know people will be saying Laois, one thing and the next but there are hardy fellas in Laois."

"I suppose it's going to come to that no matter how long they hold it off. Ten years down the road something will have to be done. They'll try and keep it out as long as they can but I'd say it's going to swing that way eventually."

Quotes for Brian Corcoran

"A few weeks before it began we played Tipperary in a challenge match and they were all over us. We got together after that and asked ourselves what went wrong and picked up the pieces. Waterford was the pressure match for us because we knew after that came the carrot of the back-door route. Winning Munster was great and we did owe Clare because they'd been a bogey team, but getting to Croke Park was also a priority."

"Probably watching the 1982 final on television. I remember that day clearly."

"I think from a team point of view it was the win over Clare in the Munster final this year. It was a great game, we got the few points ahead but of course they came back at us and it was a great one to win."

"There's never been any that I've found easy - each player has his own attributes."

"It's a controversial topic. I don't think players want to be paid for playing but they could be looked after better in other ways. Like tickets. It's a joke that Cork get 9,000 of the 59,000 going and players will have family members unable to get tickets for the game."