In 2017 and 2018, you could hand-pick Galway’s main leaders but the guys who are running this team now are the Mannion brothers, Conor Whelan, and Brian Concannon

There was bound to be an element of shadow boxing between teams who are set to meet in the championship, but you could see how much sides were ramping it up last weekend. That was evident in Salthill, Parnell Park and especially Corrigan Park.

There is more of a skill in trying to maximise your good hand, which is exactly what John Kiely did on Saturday evening. Did Kieran Kingston play the right cards? I don’t think so

When you’re not a traditional county, and you’re threatening to take over, it is far easier to develop that siege mentality, and to think that the traditionalists — and everyone else — want to see you taken down

No Wexford players were considered close contacts, while both Clare players were stood down from yesterday’s game against Laois as a precaution.

It’s much easier to be reflective in cold blood on the way home in the car

In co-commentating for RTÉ over the last two days, I often found myself trying to explain refereeing decisions to the listeners. At times, it’s hard to know what actually is a free now

I felt that some of the commentary on the opening day action last weekend was harsh

Shane Kingston’s late goal, and the two green flags which followed from Alan Connolly, put the exclamation marks on a statement Cork performance

Cork in particular will be gunning on Sunday to right some of the wrongs from their championship performance against Waterford last October