GAELIC GAMES/Munster SFC Cork v Limerick: Ian O'Riordantalks to Billy Morgan as he prepares Cork to face Limerick on Sunday
They say in sport, as in writing, one should strive to be original, and if that doesn't work, at least steal from the best. Kieran Donaghy wasn't the first giant of a footballer to be switched to full forward but he helped Kerry end up the best team in the country last summer, setting himself up for a host of imitators in the process.
Cork, it seems, are among the first to steal the idea. Michael Cussen will make his championship debut at full forward in Sunday's Munster football quarter-final against Limerick, and at 6ft 7ins - taller than Donaghy's 6ft 5ins - the comparisons are inevitable. Cussen also has some dual skills, and is almost as deft at hurling as Donaghy is at basketball.
Billy Morgan, however, has never been one to concede anything to Kerry, and the Cork manager is quick to reject all suggestions of plagiarism. Cussen, he says, was tried out at full forward in several practice matches last summer, and apparently former Cork dual star Teddy McCarthy, from the same Sarsfields club as Cussen, had first recommended him for the position several years back.
"He was part of our training panel last year even though he didn't get to play," says Morgan. "He has played most of his club football at midfield, but he was often moved up to centre forward and full forward as well. He's also had some good performances for us in that position last year, and we were always likely to try him out at some stage.
"And then he did very well in the league. So he's a player who has been in our plans for quite a while now. And Teddy McCarthy, who knows him well at Sarsfields, recommended him to me as a potential full forward at least three or four years ago."
No matter what the inspiration was for his arrival at full forward, Cussen will be impossible to mistake in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday - given he must be the tallest intercounty player in the country. He did, as Morgan suggests, perform quite well in the league, hitting 1-1 in the narrow defeat to Mayo, and also parading his threat when appearing as a second half substitute against Dublin.
He may not boast the same ball-handling skills as Donaghy but he's sure make any full back nervous - in Sunday's instance, it will be Limerick debutant Diarmuid Carroll.
The rest of the Cork team has a far more experienced and familiar look, especially with Graham Canty restored to the full back position. Canty, of Bantry Blues, had been sidelined for almost 10 months after sustaining the dreaded knee cruciate ligament injury during Cork's otherwise memorable Munster final replay win over Kerry - which necessitated an operation and then an extensive period of recovery and rehabilitation.
Morgan makes no secret of his delight in having the 27-year-old Canty back on board: "Graham has always been a huge player for us. I think he's one of the best footballers in the country and I still can't understand why he hasn't won an All Star yet.
"He's got such a great attitude, and is a great example to the rest of the team both on and off the field, especially the younger players.
"He's done everything possible to get himself back 100 per cent over the last 10 months, followed every piece of medical advice, been very sensible about it, and I've no doubt he is back to his best now.
"He's played two championship games for his club and three challenge games for us, and he's looked sharp in them all. It was difficult challenge for him to get back and I still have every confidence in him."
Canty certainly looked the part in the challenge win over Laois on the May bank holiday, keeping Laois's Paul Lawlor scoreless in the process. He slips back into an accomplished defence that includes the experienced Anthony Lynch and also Michael Shields, who was part of Cork's All-Ireland under-21 win over Laois a fortnight ago.
It's a game most neutrals expect Cork to win, and it is also hoped that the game will rise above the standards of last year's meeting, when Cork prevailed 0-9 to Limerick's 0-5 in what was widely regarded as the worst championship game of the summer.
Cork, after all, are the reigning Munster champions, although Morgan is typically cautious about flaunting any confidence. "We have some good competition for places now and are mostly injury free, and I'd also expect the experience of the last year or two to stand to this team now. But Limerick are always a hard team to beat.
"They beat us four years and we're still very wary of that, and even in the last league match there they put us to the pin of our collar. They were leading at half-time and we only got away in the closing stages.
"I also know their manager Mickey Ned O'Sullivan well going back to the days in Strawberry Hill, and he certainly knows the game well. He'll come down here well prepared, with a plan to beat us, and they're certainly not just making up the numbers. I expect they'll be a very tough nut to crack."
