Galway need to front up for tough challenge in Thurles

THIS is not where the Galway hurlers expected to be – heading to Semple Stadium, Thurles on Saturday (2pm) to face Waterford in the second round of All-Ireland Qualifiers.

It’s the fallout from their shock Leinster championship semi-final defeat at Croke Park earlier in the month when the subdued Tribesmen struggled to escape from Dublin’s tactical snare.

Only a handful of Galway players came through that match with their reputations intact and the anticipation is that Shane O’Neill and his backroom team will shake things up in terms for personnel for Saturday’s knock-out clash.

Heading the queue to force their way into the first fifteen are experienced defender Aidan Harte and young Evan Niland, whose Clarinbridge clubmate TJ Brennan could also be a candidate for promotion in the Galway rearguard.

Though their physically powerful forward line has been a major asset, the overall productivity is diminishing as the age profile of these players advances. If you take out Conor Whelan and, to a lesser extent Brian Concannon, Galway are lacking genuine pace and this situation must be a concern for the team management

Much interest will also focus on the outcome of the selectors’ deliberations over the central defensive roles. On the evidence so far, it seems implausible that Daithí Burke and Gearóid McInerney will be left in the same positions that they lined out against Dublin. A fit-again Johnny Coen could also force his way into contention for a midfield role.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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