Galway find themselves at a crossroads as a summer of inactivity beckons.
The structure of the hurling Championship over the years means it’s their earliest exit since 1965 and, while there were obvious signs of slippage, I have to say I didn’t see this coming.
I still thought they’d top the group in Leinster and retain the provincial title. In the end, it came down to scoring difference and the Carlow game ultimately cost them in that regard.
They just didn’t sparkle all year, with the exception of their win over Kilkenny. The loss of Joe Canning hit them hard, as it would any team. Could you imagine Kilkenny without TJ Reid?
But I was sure they’d still have enough to stay in the running until Canning was fully fit again. Ultimately they didn’t.
This team has been on the road quite a few years now and several of them have played in five All-Ireland finals going back to the draw and replay in 2012. That’s tough going. Some of their key players, Canning included, are pushing on.
He’s picked up some injuries and hopefully we’ll see him back to his best again but if not, where are Galway going to be? When you’re relying on the same core group of players you run the risk of them getting stale and that appears the case with Galway.
There are players on that Galway team who have been excellent servants and really put the county on a level they hadn’t been at since but they haven’t been reach those heights and may not be able the future.
No matter how good the underage supply lines are, replacing players of that ilk isn’t easy.
A couple of years ago, I brought a second string IT Carlow game down to play Galway and they absolutely annihilated us.
They more they could beat us by, the better and this was only a meaningless match.
I admire that trait in a team but I didn’t see it this year. They didn’t have that ruthlessness to punish teams mercilessly that they had before. That’s why I’d question their hunger.
Take the Kilkenny game for example – as dominant as Galway were that day, they still only won by a point in the end and were hanging on. I know from when I was playing myself, you can doubt if you have that hunger and you’re hoping it’ll manifest itself when needed but when it doesn’t, you’re going to struggle.
Perhaps the break will do Galway some good and they’ll come back refreshed next year. I’m sure they’ll reflect and conclude that they should have won more. I don’t see why Micheal Donoghue shouldn’t stay on.
Galway still have the nucleus of a good side but something needs to change. There just haven’t been enough young players breaking through and now it’s caught up with them.
Surely we'll see a lot more from Limerick?
I don't really get why there was shadow boxing in Thurles on Sunday.
Limerick were far from assured of their place in the Munster final and I would have thought a provincial title would be of huge importance to them - so why take a chance?
But now that they are in the final, I expect they’ll go hammer and tongs to beat Tipperary, who were more comfortable for me on Sunday than the final four-point margin suggested.
Clare bounced back on Sunday but it was ultimately too late. It’s hard to know where Clare and their management team go from here. Can they take it a step further?
John Meyler must be pulling his hair out in Cork as they continue to struggle for consistency. They can be world beaters but also vulnerable to losing to almost anyone.
You’d be worried as an opposition manager about them hitting form, but nobody can be sure when that’s likely to happen.
Huge credit to Leinster this season
The excitement of the Leinster Championship has far outstripped that of Munster this year and there was a thrilling climax to the round robin phase on Saturday night.
Having said that, I’m not so sure that any of the top three in Leinster would beat those who have emerged from Munster.
Dublin got a huge result against Galway but were edged out of the final, which will be contested by Wexford and Kilkenny.
I felt Kilkenny should have sneaked it on Saturday, which would have opened the door for Dublin, and Wexford were probably the happier of the two teams with the draw.
Kilkenny have key players coming back to fitness for the final but at this stage Wexford need some silverware.
It could be the only chance either side gets to lift something this year.
Hard to believe Offaly's decline
It's hard to credit that Offaly, Kilkenny’s biggest rivals during my playing days, will be in the Christy Ring Cup next year.
It’s only 1998 since they were All-Ireland champions and 2000 since they were in a final.
Next year they’ll be playing counties that wouldn’t even dream of that level of achievement.
It’s a small county that also competes in football but they haven’t had every player putting his hand up to play and they can’t afford that.
If the current generation won’t commit, it’s difficult for the next ones to.
They need to get young lads playing the game and aspiring to represent the county with a good coaching structure around them.
The sooner they start climbing the ladder again, the better.
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