Galway unlikely to make Leinster move, says Hayes

GALWAY hurling boss Conor Hayes does not envisage the Tribesmen playing in the Leinster SHC in the near future, insisting the lack of a tradition militates against such a move.

However, at a personal level he says he'd have no great qualms about it happening.

More pressingly, the Galway manager points out that preparing in the dark, without knowing their opposition in the opening round of the qualifier competition, places his team at a distinct disadvantage.

In contrast, he found being able to prepare for the weekend challenge game against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in Pearse Stadium was a help, especially since it was the first time the full panel came together since the end of their league campaign.

"We took two weeks off immediately after the league which was a good idea. We had eight fairly competitive games in the league and we felt that lads needed time to go back to their clubs,'' he explains.

"We're trying to focus in on the championship and it has been difficult. This is really the start of the serious stuff.

"It's a disadvantage that we don't know who we will be meeting. If you knew you were playing, you'd have some bit of focus to work into. It's going to be difficult enough for us to be told the week beforehand.

" You don't know what kind of a team you are going to get, but you're going to get a team with a backlash. And, they are going to have one or two games played.''

As things stand, Hayes feels Galway are probably better sticking with the new arrangement (introduced last year, whereby they are guaranteed two games).

He reckons if it came down to a decision being taken at executive level, tradition would go against it.

"People will remember Galway didn't do well after they went into Munster in the 60s. But you're talking about a different era now and a different set of players and they'd be going in at the same level.

"The difficulty we would have is we don't have any tradition of playing there. The thought of us playing Wexford in a Leinster semi-final in Portlaoise wouldn't fire us up as would a qualifier.''

Rory Gantley, who was suspended from the panel after he opted to play a club game the day Galway played Cork in the league, has been restored to the panel and was the team's top scorer on Sunday.

The game marked Kilkenny's first together since the league final and training for the Leinster semi-final resumes this evening.

With Dublin and Laois drawing on Saturday in Nowlan Park, the champions have to wait a little longer before knowing their opponents. Either way, manager Brian Cody is expecting a tough challenge.

"Whichever team is going to come through will have the benefit of two highly competitive games. Both teams were very impressive. I just feel it's going to be very difficult to beat either of them and I really mean that."