Munster rivals Cork and Kerry go head-to-head at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday in Round 3 of the Provincial Senior Championship.
Cork served notice of their championship intentions with a big Round 2 victory over Waterford.
Bearing in mind that Waterford had beaten Kerry in their opening fixture, it was a statement of intent from the Leesiders and they’re in no mood to relinquish their provincial crown.
Cork have carried their excellent Lidl NFL Division 1 winning form into the Championship and will start as favourites to knock Kerry out of Munster.
Kerry have caused Cork some problems in recent years in the province but they need a huge improvement to compete.
Kerry lost the Lidl NFL Division 2 Final to Waterford, before falling to the same opposition six days later in Round 1 in Munster.
Now, they face a do-or-die clash with Cork in their quest to remain in the Munster Championship.
Victory for Cork will pit them against Waterford again in the Provincial decider but a Kerry win will mean that score difference will be required to determine the finalists.
Cork are fielding a lethal inside line on Saturday, with Eimear Scally, Saoirse Noonan and Orla Finn all capable of posting big scores.
Cork have plenty of talent to call upon off the bench also, but Kerry have enough star quality in their ranks to be competitive.
With players like Sarah Houlihan, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh and Anna Galvin in attack, there’s proven pace and scoring power in the Kingdom ranks.
Cork: M O’Brien; C O’Shea, E Meaney, M Duggan; S Kelly, A Hutchings, E Kiely; O Farmer, M O’Callaghan; C O’Sullivan, N Cotter, D Kiely; E Scally, S Noonan, O Finn.
Kerry: L Fitzgerald; E Lynch, L Coughlan, C O’Brien; S Lynch, A O’Connell, C Murphy; L Scanlon, N Carmody; S Houlihan, A Brosnan, A Galvin; L Ní Mhuircheartaigh, E Dineen, A Foley.
