Cork defender Ronan Curran has said he and his team-mates must be wary of the threat Offaly carry ahead of tomorrow's National Hurling League opener at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

The Faithful men travel to Cork looking for their first win in Division One after winning the second division last season and the centre-back knows all to well that the Rebels face the real possibility of a first round defeat against Joe Dooley's team.

"You always get a tough game against Offaly - they have very good hurlers. They stuck with us last year for most of the match and we only pulled away towards the end. We're not expecting anything other than a tough game tomorrow," said Curran.

Cork boss Denis Walsh gives competitive debuts to Mark O'Sullivan and Lorcan McLoughlin for the game against Offaly, who Curran has been impressed with after defeating All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the Walsh Cup last month.

"They seem to be going well this year - any team that beats Kilkenny, which they did a few weeks ago, must be going well," he added.

"From playing them last year you'd know a lot of those players, but they've brought in a few new faces to freshen things up, lads you wouldn't be familiar with. It's going to be a challenge but we're all looking forward to it." Tweet

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