Dear Noel,
I’m a corner-back with – if I do say so myself – a fearsome reputation for keeping my man to no more than a point per game. Lately though I have noticed a bit of slippage – in one game I was switched to the other corner after shipping 1-2.

I’m an AI man, and, actually, I have the fewest repeats in the east of the county. But business has slackened off in the last year. A lot of the lads are getting their own bulls.

I think the slowdown in my work could be affecting my hurling. Am I losing my edge? What do you suggest?

     - Adrian, Leinster

 Noel replies – It’s very possible the two are related, Adrian, and you’re absolutely correct in seeking help before it becomes a major problem, and you suffer the indignity of being dropped, or, worse, being asked to play as a wing-back.

It’s important that a man in your line of business is always within arm’s length of his quarry, so to speak. Anything less, and you’re sailing close to the wind. A good corner-back should always get the feel of the opponent’s jersey. Your work and your play are both carried out in adversial environments and there is huge potential for calamity when you lose your bearings.

I suggest that you arrange with a local dairy farmer to handle up to ten of his cows at least three times in the week leading up to a league game, and 20 on a championship week. Your stats will soon be back to normal.

It might be no harm as well to leave a couple of used AI gloves in the visiting dressing room.

Noel brings the light through the clouds. Contact him on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; www.knowledgeablenoel.com; Skype (knowledgeable.noel); and Facebook (Knowledgeable Noel.)  

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