'We have a target on our back' - Cork primed for Déise battle in semi-finals
But neither the hurlers' second-half implosion to gift Tipp the title, nor talk or a potential three-in-a-row for the reigning camogie champions is going to let Saoirse McCarthy lose focus ahead of Saturday's vital semi-final against Waterford.
A Nowlan Park double-header sees the champions take on the Déise in the later game, which follows the meeting of Galway and Tipperary in the other semi-final.
Cork come into the game off the back of a flawless group phase, where they finished top of the table in the five-team round-robin, while they also proved victorious in the league earlier in the year.
They have contested the last four All-Ireland finals, winning both the 2023 and 2024 deciders, and are just one game away from making it back to Croke Park.
"You can't be preparing for something that you're not in yet, so definitely won't be looking past Waterford this weekend," said McCarthy, speaking to RTÉ Sport ahead of the weekend fixture.
"Semi-finals are there to be won and obviously we want to do that, but it's one game at a time."
Saturday's opponents finished second in their respective group behind Galway in what was a competitive collective, as Waterford got the better of Dublin and Kilkenny, before overcoming a tough Clare unit in the quarter-finals.
And McCarthy is expecting a tough battle against their neighbours, with the reward of a place in the final adding to the expected intensity.
"It's going to be some challenge," said McCarthy. "They're a great side and I think they're having a great year, so we definitely won't be looking past them.
"We know Waterford very well. We've played them multiple times most years.
"They're a brilliant side, they're very pacey and they like to run the ball. They have the likes of Beth Carton, Lorraine Bray, and Niamh Rockett is flying this year.
"We're under no illusions. They're going to come out of the traps. We know we have a target on our back and they're going to want to hunt us down.
"I think they're going to bring a lot of physicality and pace to the game.
"Hopefully, now we can stand up to that.
"Obviously, they're going to be sharp after playing the quarter-final and we haven't had a game in four weeks, so that will be something we'll have to manage as well.
"They're having a great year and Mike (Boland) has done a really good job with them as well. I think we're just excited to go out and play and see what they're going to produce too."
Cork have been idle for four weeks since winning the group and claiming an automatic place in the last-four, while Waterford have only had three weeks to fill since their quarter-final win over Clare.
But McCarthy said that the intensity and quality of training combined with the ever-increasing competition for places has kept the team sharp ahead of Saturday's trip to the Kilkenny venue.
She said: "I think it is a bit long, but obviously you have to play off the quarter-finals in that time as well and still give the other teams a chance to have a break.
"It's understandable at the same time. I think we managed it well. We were the same last year.
"We know what we need to do now as well to prepare ourselves correctly.
"The competition within our own squad is immense for places. The standard of training has been really good and hopefully we'll be ready now for Saturday."
And while McCarthy can look forward to remaining competitive and eyeing further glory this summer, she admitted the ache of watching her male counterparts losing out at Croker Park last Sunday.
"We were all behind the hurlers and I'm gutted for them," she said.
"They had a great year, and they don't become a bad team overnight, so hopefully they can lift themselves up and be proud of what they achieved this year.
"We're just trying to finish out our year now on a high and do our job."
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Extra.ie
26 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
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There was a moment of levity during Jim McGuinness's press conference ahead of the All-Ireland final. The Donegal manager was asked when he knew that Finnbarr Roarty, the fresh-faced teenage defender who has been one of the revelations of this summer, was ready for senior inter-county football. 'I would say about a year ago I thought he might have been good enough, but I was a day out on my calculation!' McGuinness smiled, a reference to how he handed Roarty his senior debut in a McKenna Cup game, despite him still being a minor, which was against GAA rules and resulted in Donegal getting a slap on the wrists. But it did show how long the youngster, a clubmate of the manager in Naomh Conaill, has been on the radar. One of the big questions that surrounded Donegal ahead of this season was how McGuinness would adjust his team's defensive structure and shape to the new rules. While much of how they defend remains based on a system — and how they like to set up zonally just inside the arc — they have adapted it to the new game. Even with 11 v 11, he has trusted his team's shape. Finnbarr Roarty has been one of the revelations of this summer. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie 'That is probably the one thing that has surprised me about Donegal this season,' says Eamon McGee, the All-Ireland-winning corner-back in 2012. 'McGuinness came back last year and loved his defensive shape, and I wondered if he would remain true to that there or is he going more to a hybrid approach where he is getting out and putting the pressure on. 'But he's stayed true to that. I'm surprised that he's able to work it out, and they've been very brave, in fairness to Donegal, how they defended those zones and how they're leaving that third zone, nearly man-free. There's one man keeping an eye on it, but they're getting across so quick. 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There has been some speculation that Donegal may remain true to their zonal system elsewhere and McCole will be the only one tasked with a specific man-marking role, although the manner in which Ryan McHugh curtailed Rory Grugan's influence in the Ulster final suggests he may be the player to tag Paudie Clifford. Brendan McCole will likely be assigned the most difficult job in Gaelic football. Pic: INPHO/Leah Scholes But all eyes will be on McCole and how he handles Clifford. In his understated way, the Mountcharles native has grown into arguably the most consistent full-back in the country over the past couple of years and his ability to read the game and sense danger are two of his most impressive attributes, both of which he will need in spades on Sunday. His policing of Matthew Costello in the semi-final underlined his ability. 'McCole has been tasked with the danger man in every game, and he keeps an eye on his man while reading the game,' McGee says. 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