Joe Canning: Galway are growing in confidence and if they beat Kilkenny, the crowds will follow
You have to compliment the Leinster Council and Croke Park for giving away 20,000 tickets for underage teams to attend the
hurling final
on Sunday week. It's a great initiative, and I know a few
Galway
clubs are already planning on sending up busloads of kids, which can only add to the occasion.
It's also a nice boost to the Joe McDonagh final between Kildare and Laois, the Croke Park curtain-raiser, already a big day out for both those teams. I think under-16s should nearly always be free anyway, so it doesn't surprise me those 20,000 tickets are being snapped up fast.
At the same time, it's probably not a great sign for a Leinster hurling final between Galway and
Kilkenny
when you're giving away this many tickets to help fill the stadium. Croke Park was never going to be near its 82,300-capacity, which is why I think they might have been better off moving the game elsewhere, to Tullamore or Portlaoise maybe. Pack the place out, make it something unforgettable.
Everybody wants to play in Croke Park, I get that. For me as a player there was nowhere better. But in terms of playing atmosphere, and spectacle, this game might have been better served by a place like Tullamore, halfway between Galway and Kilkenny. I don't think the supporters would have any issue.
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With gentle irony, if they moved the Munster final between Limerick and Cork to Croke Park, they probably would sell the place out. Only you can imagine what the Munster hurling diehards would say about that. As it turns out, they've increased ticket prices for the Munster final at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday week, the €50 stand tickets up €5 on last year.
Croke Park can also be an expensive day out, but I'd be hopeful the Galway supporters are starting to get behind their team again. Same with any county, you need some success for that to happen. Limerick have that in spades now, and the Tipperary supporters are also getting behind their team. I think back to last year, when they played Cork in Semple Stadium, and the Tipp supporters were shockingly outnumbered. At home!
The crowds will always follow the success, no matter what the sport. Look at Munster rugby. A few years ago, it was impossible to get a ticket for any match in Thomond Park, and now you could nearly rock up on the day and get in.
Galway manager Micheál Donoghue. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
For Galway, beating Dublin in Parnell Park last Sunday was a big result on several levels. They'd never beaten them in any championship match in Dublin before. Micheál Donoghue would have been fully aware of that, and I'm glad for the lads to get that monkey off their back.
Parnell Park is also tough place for any team to visit. I used to hate going there. The Dublin crowd are in on top of you, and if you're struggling at all that's not pleasant. It's a big enough field, but the wall around makes it feel a lot smaller. Croke Park always feels way bigger than any other pitch, when in fact they're nearly all the same size.
Galway ended up topping the group, on scoring difference, and there's no disputing Galway and Kilkenny have been the two best teams in Leinster. Same with Limerick and Cork in Munster. Maybe part of the hard sell on Croke Park is that some people are saying the hurling championship hasn't ignited yet this summer, in Leinster or in Munster.
Some of the Munster games didn't live up to the hype, or go right down to the wire. And maybe it wasn't as good as last year. I don't think anyone expected Clare to be out before the last round, but I also think the perception and the reality can quickly change from one game to the next.
When Galway lost to Kilkenny in the first round, some people were saying Galway won't go far this year. Now they're back in a Leinster final, and people are giving them a good chance of beating Kilkenny. Before Cork lost heavily to Limerick last Sunday week, they were favourites to win the All-Ireland. Now Limerick are favourites to win the All-Ireland.
For three years we played Tipp in All-Ireland semi-finals, and there was one point between us. In 2015 we won by a point, in 2016 we lost by a point, and in 2017 we won by a point. These are the fine margins between winning and losing, when in reality there was nothing between us.
Some teams might have put a little more emphasis on the league this year, trying to avoid a drop to Division 1B. Cork were begging for silverware with this team, probably targeted the league, and maybe you're just not seeing the same freshness right now.
But fortunes change every year.
Kilkenny's Fionan Mackessy shoots at goal. Photograph: Ken Sutton/Inpho
Now you do have Kilkenny going for six-in-a-row in Leinster, and Limerick going for seven in Munster. You could question that scenario, where one team dominates, but I don't think anyone could say the Munster and Leinster championships haven't been competitive the last number of years.
Two years ago, Galway had the Leinster final won until the last puck of the game, when Cillian Buckley's goal for Kilkenny changed everything. It also changed a lot of people's perspective on Henry Shefflin's term with Galway.
If they'd won that, Galway would have made an All-Ireland semi-final, and Kilkenny beat Clare in that semi-final. So potentially Galway could have made an All-Ireland final that year, and people would be saying Shefflin had a great time with Galway.
Galway are building confidence again, and if you look back at the opening 20 minutes against Kilkenny the first day, they weren't that bad. They started well, then just fell off for some reason, maybe the forwards stopped working as hard.
That has changed the last couple of games. They've switched around some personnel. Daithí Burke coming back is a big plus, Pádraic Mannion moving to corner back, David Burke around midfield, structurally that has suited them better.
Conor Whelan is also coming out the field more, then you add in Cathal Mannion, who is in brilliant form, nailing his frees when he has to. Overall, they're just working a lot harder. That's all you can ask for.
When you look at this Kilkenny team, pound-for-pound they're still as good as any team out there. Galway will have their hands full, no doubt about it, but if you're a Galway supporter, you'd be hopeful. But for any team to beat Kilkenny, you absolutely have to earn it. No matter where the game is played.
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