Expert's View

On Brian Corcoran. . . He is the lynchpin of this Cork defence but it will be a major job to control the area in such a way that he can stop John Power from playing his usual role. He is especially strong under a dropping ball, where he sticks up his hand and wins the ball with ease. But he may strike a fraction slow, and we saw that a few times against John Troy in the Offaly match. In this game he'll have D J Carey coming in from one side and Brian McEvoy from the other, so Kilkenny are sure to put pressure on the entire Cork half back line and it's up to Corcoran to hold the middle. To do that then he may have to control his game somewhat, whereas normally he would get the ball, run with it and strike it. He's pushing hard for this win and that is sure to inspire him.

On John Power. . . As the engine-room of the Kilkenny forwards, Power is going to have a humdinger of a battle with Corcoran. Up to now he has done his job extremely well, especially in breaking up play and creating some significant space for the likes of Carey, Charlie Carter and McEvoy. All those players feed off Power and that's what makes him such an important part of this Kilkenny side. He is a strong and physical player, and an ideal man to have in the middle of the forward line. His stickwork may not be up to the standard of D J or Carter but he has tremendous ability to put the ball into space, even with the hand pass. Also has the advantage of playing with D J for such a long time.