Their dominance of Munster and the impact of Mark Coleman and Darragh Fitzgibbon these last two years provides hope but what counters those positives is how the team is in the bad habit of repeating itself.

Below are four areas they know they must work on.

Benchmarks

Speaking at an Allianz Leagues launch, manager John Meyler was acutely aware he needed to add to his panel and that competition served him well.

He was cognisant of the season previous where you could have set your watch by the substitutes Cork introduced— always three replacements, usually Daniel Kearney, Luke O’Farrell and Michael Cahalane coming on and Luke Meade, Darragh Fitzgibbon and another forward coming off.

Kearney and Fitzgibbon had fine 2018 seasons and Meyler used his bench more than Kieran Kingston but there was never any doubt who his favoured starting team was even during the four rounds of Munster.

The team that began the Munster final also commenced the All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick.

Why try and fix something that’s not broken, says you, but something usually has changed between leaving Semple Stadium in July and heading to Croke Park.

The return of Aidan Walsh and Stephen McDonnell to the panel will add to Meyler’s options and while Seán O’Donoghue has been a find and a fit-again Alan Cadogan will be a boost, it’s from the bench where Cork need winners. Look back at the last two All-Ireland finals and how the auxiliaries of Limerick (1-0) and Galway (0-4) have made a difference.

In Cork’s All-Ireland semi-finals of 2017 and ‘18, their bench has provided a point in each game, the latter one where Limerick’s reinforcements contributed 2-6.

Manage Munster

What do we mean by that? Well, winning back-to-back provincial titles (won under different structures) is hugely impressive but what has it done from them in terms of the bigger picture?

Their one defeat these past three seasons in Munster came against would-be All-Ireland champions Tipperary in 2016.

But what would they learn from that exactly?

We’re not foolish enough to say Cork should not go out to win the competition but might we suggest they view it instead as the shortest means possible to an All-Ireland crown?

As fabulous a competition as the Munster SHC is — and as easy as it is to be enveloped by it given its round-robin nature — Cork must now regard it as a means to an end rather than an entity in itself.

Sure, aim to reach the final but finishing third with the promise of an outing against a Joe McDonagh Cup side ahead of a quarter-final wouldn’t hurt.

Just ask Limerick.

Workrate

An obvious one, right? But it’s one borne out by some fine statistical work by Brian McDonnell.

While the team’s shot conversion rate was peerless as was their pass completion numbers in the 2018 Championship and they topped the possession too, their aerial and physical ability remains questionable.

They were 11th of 12 teams in terms of an average number of contested catches won, seventh in opposition puck-outs won, 10th in ruck balls won and seventh in the work-rate ratio listing (opposing team’s possessions divided by Cork’s number of hooks, blocks and tackles).

When they have the ball, few are better than Cork but there remains the question of their forwards not doing enough to win it back. Kearney, obviously, would be an exception and the return of Walsh (below) could add to Cork’s ability to win contested catches.

What Cork need are more trigger moments, not necessarily scores but instances like isolating an opponent with numbers to win a free or turning over a ball with a thumping shoulder.

Goals

Not this old chestnut — Ed. Yes, this old chestnut because it remains as relevant as ever.

Looking at how Galway won an All-Ireland with miniscule reliability on goals in 2017 and Tipperary and Waterford finishing as the best goal-getters in Munster this year but failing to emerge from the province, Cork would have been encouraged that they weren’t going to be inhibited by their long-term shyness in front of the nets.

Yet it was goals that broke them in Croke Park against Limerick (three to Cork’s two) as they did against Waterford there the year before (four to zero). Not surprisingly, Cork have been out-goaled in all of their last four SHC visits to GAA HQ, which they have also lost.

Just once since their last All-Ireland title have they scored more goals than the opposition in Croke Park, the 2013 final draw with Clare when they registered three. The days of John Fitzgibbon seem a lifetime ago now.