WHEN the fat is in the fire against Tipperary, Conor Lehane will hope for a chance to do his bit to end the lean years for Cork.
The veteran forward has had to contend with life on the fringes for the Rebels, who can end a 20-year wait for an All-Ireland SHC title in Sunday’s final.
On Sunday Cork will be hoping to lift Liam MacCarthy for the first time since 2005
Conor Lehane remains a valuable member of their panel
Lehane was in the team for the 2023 win over Waterford that saw Pat Ryan take charge of Cork in a Championship match for the first time.
However, he has not been selected to start a game since last summer’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Offaly.
Still, Ryan recently lauded his dedication as the Cork boss highlighted how the body-fat percentage of the Midleton forward, who turns 33 this month, is the lowest on his panel.
Lehane said: “Every player that’s involved wants to be getting as much game time as humanly possible.
“Everyone wants to be impacting positively and when it doesn’t happen, you’d be heartbroken in a way. But that’s the whole gig — it’s sport.
“It’s tough when you don’t get your chance but when you do get your chance, whether it’s a minute, ten minutes, 20 minutes, it’s just whatever impact you can have.”
For Lehane, the 2013 loss to Clare after a replay remains his last direct involvement in an All-Ireland final. After being cut from the panel in 2021, he missed that season’s decider against Limerick.
And for last summer’s Croke Park clash with the Banner, Lehane was an unused sub for the duration of a thrilling showpiece that Cork lost by a point after extra-time.
He admitted: “Obviously I’d love to have been involved and try to make an impact. But it’s about being a grown-up as well.
“You’ve got to take it on the chin and regroup again and just drive on. You’ve no other choice really.”
Having been axed from the set-up by Kieran Kingston, Lehane was recalled by the same manager a year later in recognition of his sensational club form as he led Midleton to Cork SHC glory.
Patrick Horgan is the only member of the current panel who has been on the go at senior level with Cork for longer than Lehane, who debuted in 2011.
Now in his 14th season, is the competition for places in the Rebel attack more intense than he has ever known it?
Lehane said: “Definitely. Everyone is just talented beyond belief and as driven as the next fella.
“It kind of goes against you when you want to get your place back but certainly it keeps you on your toes in terms of you can’t be slacking in any session.
“You have to be on the ball, you have to be ready as if it’s a game.”
BENCH PRESS
Lehane came off the bench and notched a point against Dublin last time out as Cork booked their spot in the All-Ireland final for a second year on the spin.
And he was one of the heroes who foiled Limerick’s bid for a seventh straight Munster title.
The two points he scored in extra-time after being called upon to replace Horgan helped to force a penalty shootout.
He was then the first Cork player to beat Nickie Quaid, emphatically converting to set his side on their way to a first provincial triumph since 2018.
It was a sweet moment for Lehane, whose involvement earlier in Cork’s season had been curtailed by shoulder and hamstring injuries.
He said: “It was unreal to experience that, especially the way I’d been out for a while and not really involved.
“When the opportunity came, you don’t think about that at the time because you’d be a bag of nerves otherwise.
“To be involved in the way it ended, the aftermath and the dressing room and stuff, it’s worth any bit of hardship you went through throughout the year to experience that.”
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