GER Manley is confident fans will see a more familiar Cork camogie team in their All-Ireland championship campaign that starts this Saturday.

The Rebels, minus a host of regulars, endured a challenging league campaign before suffering a surprise Munster quarter-final loss to Tipperary on April 19th – that was Cork’s last competitive outing.

It’s been a wait of over seven weeks until this Saturday’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 1 opener away to All-Ireland champions Galway in Athenry (2pm).

But that break has been a blessing in disguise, as Cork are set to welcome back a number of familiar faces, including experienced forward Amy O’Connor and Newcestown’s Ciara O’Sullivan who is back in contention after her second cruciate injury.

‘We can’t wait for the championship,’ Manley says.

‘I always say the league is the league, but championship is a different gravy altogether.

‘The girls have brought huge energy to training over the last couple of months.

‘The results could easily have gone differently for us in the league, but we’ve definitely improved. Getting players back has strengthened us.

‘We’re better in the forward line, we’re scoring more goals and we’re defending well.

‘Look, Galway are the team to beat. They won the All-Ireland last year and they won the league. They’re a serious side and it won’t be easy. But we’ll give it our best shot on Saturday.’

Cork’s returning players will make a difference, especially Amy O’Connor, who is in her 13th season at the top level.

‘We have Amy back now, which is a big boost,’ Manley says.

‘She has been back on the field four or five weeks now and she’s been excellent.

‘Amy is a leader; it’s all about the team with her. She gets on with it and she’s really good around the younger players, giving advice and helping them along.’

Cork's Amy O’Connor is on the comeback from injury. (Photo: James Lawlor/INPHO)

With Orlaith Mullins and Clodagh Finn also expected back in action in the weeks ahead, you can understand why Manley is feeling more optimistic about the All-Ireland series.

The eventual return of six-time All-Ireland winner Ashling Thompson, sidelined since March by an elbow injury, would provide another huge boost.

‘Hopefully we’ll see Ashling at some stage during the All-Ireland championship. I couldn’t put a date on it because she had a very bad injury, but her attitude and confidence have been phenomenal. She has done everything asked of her to get back,’ said Manley, who gave youth its fling in the league as a new-look Cork took to the field.

As well as injuries, Cork are without Laura Treacy (retired), Hannah Looney (AFLW), Aoife Healy (AFLW), Pamela and Katrina Mackey and Kate Wall this season, so the Rebels have had to dig deep.

‘That’s where the strength of the squad comes in. Somebody else steps up,’ Manley explains.

‘There’ll be a couple of girls making their debut at the weekend too, which is great for Cork camogie and great for the players themselves because they’ve shown up very well with the U23s,’ he adds, a nod to Cork’s recent All-Ireland U23 triumph that highlights the talent in the squad.

‘We have been missing a lot of players, but it has given a great opportunity to some of the younger players to get valuable experience. You saw the U23s had an excellent campaign – we have 14 or 15 players from that group involved with the senior squad and they’ve all played league games this year, which is great.’

The new championship format this season could also help Cork. As one of the four 2025 semi-finalists – along with Galway, Waterford and Tipperary – the Rebels are in Group 1 and already assured of their place in the knock-out stages. The top two teams go into the semi-finals, while the third and fourth teams from Group 1 progress to the quarter-finals, where they will meet the top two sides from Group 2.

So, this format can allow Cork to build for the business end of the championship.

‘You’re spot on,’ Manley agrees.

‘We’ll probably need a game for Ashling Thompson when she’s back. We’ll need games for Orlaith Mullins and Clodagh Finn. Ciara O’Sullivan needs game time too – she’s back in full training now the last couple of weeks and taking contact again.

‘The important thing for me is that the squad is getting stronger. We gave a lot of game time to girls during the league and there’s good talent there.

‘Now it’s about getting everything to gel. There are three tough matches ahead, but we’re still in the mix and we’re hoping to give a good account of ourselves on Saturday.’

With games away to Tipperary (June 14th) and home to Waterford (June 28th) to follow, all eyes now are on Galway in a rematch of the 2025 All-Ireland final where Cork’s three-in-a-row bid came up short.

It’s the ideal game to focus the mind.

‘For us it’s all about performance,’ Manley says.

‘Of course we want to win, but the backdrop to the championship this year is that the four teams from last year’s semi-finals are all in one group and they’re all already qualified for the knockout stages.

‘Naturally you want to get straight through to a semi-final, but it’s a funny situation when you’re preparing for a championship and you know you can’t be knocked out.

‘For us, we’re concentrating solely on Galway. We know how tough it will be in Athenry. We’ve had some tough days up there over the years, but I think we’ve turned a corner at the moment and we’re hoping for a good performance.

‘As I always say, Cork hurlers love hard ground, whether it’s camogie or the men’s game, and you can see the sharpness coming back.

‘We’re just hoping now that we can bring what we’ve been doing in training into the game on Saturday.’