Cats can’t afford to be complacent

Tony Considine

If they were in Croke Park, I'm sure they'll have seen the fright Clare gave Cork. If they were in any way complacent before this, and I don't believe they were, they now know Cork and Kilkenny no longer have the fear factor over other teams. And if Galway were watching, they too must know the playing field has levelled.

The big thing for Galway tomorrow is whether they can stand up to Kilkenny. Both sides seem to want to forget last year in Thurles, when Galway were blitzed and bossed around.

But you can't ignore that. Afterwards, they were complaining about how Cody's behaviour on the line, encroaching and roaring at the ref. Rubbish. Cody was doing what he had to do while Galway capitulated.

I hope that's still in their minds, because they need to put it right. It's time for Galway to stand up to Kilkenny and show some character.

We saw a slice of it in the second half against Tipp; we need more.

Galway have very good players all over the pitch, but it's a team effort that will decide tomorrow. They will have to deliver in every position. Central defence has been a big problem , and they had to shuffle again last week. Shane Kavanagh had trouble at full-back on Micheál Webster, and that hole was plugged when Tony Óg Regan went back he was in trouble again when Eoin Kelly went to centre-forward, and again, a change was made, Ollie Canning moved out to

centre-back and did a brilliant job.

They need a really good full-back this week with the man on the edge of the square for Kilkenny. Against Limerick, DJ proved, yet again, what a great player he is; any bit of leeway, he'll pull the trigger and quickly. Will Tony Óg be able for him?

Centre-back is also vital. I'm not surprised Kavanagh gets another chance, as he improved when he went to centre-back and got a great point, but I am surprised Colin Coen, impressive when he came on at wing-back, isn't starting. One defensive ace they have, at any rate, is Canning. He can play anywhere, could cover centre-back, full-back, even do a man-marking job on Shefflin. The Galway midfield is good, worked hard last time and got a few points. Healy is the more skilful player, but Tierney's work-rate is huge. Things can go very wrong for him, though.

The real power in Galway the last day was their half-forward line of Forde, Kerins and Murray. They got a lot of space a luxury they certainly won't have tomorrow, with Mullally, Barry, and JJ Delaney.

Inside, one thing Damien Hayes will NOT be doing this week is shoving a Kilkenny corner-back onto his back. He might get a goal, but not like this.

For Kilkenny, the biggest thing this year, probably unprecedented since they started winning All-Irelands, is that they've gone two games without a goal.

Were Kilkenny overdoing it in training, are the years starting to catch up, or are they timing their run? I'm inclined to go more for the latter a dangerous game to play, if it is the case. Cody has a record of trying to win every game, but also of doing his training in public.

That changed after the Limerick game, I believe because Cody sees the team as fit enough, but needs to work on their tactics. Either that, or the panic button was pushed, and I don't believe Cody ever panics. Last year, after losing the Leinster semi to Wexford, they had to peak for every game, and it caught up with them in the final. This year, the game they had to win was the Leinster semi-final, and they walloped Offaly. That took them to an All-Ireland quarter-final, and I believe they just kept training hard.

Now they're in the semi-final, they can take the foot off the pedal a bit, work on their sharpness.

I think that's what they've been doing, sharpness, and tactics. We're hearing reports of Tommy Walsh at corner-back, James Ryall at midfield, what next? DJ in goals?

Kilkenny are the best at keeping people guessing; I don't believe Tommy will be back in defence. He's been doing very well where he is, and remember, Damien Hayes got 1-3 off him last year, on a beaten team.

Tommy conceded a lot of scores all year last year in defence. Better to cut off the supply to Hayes, and this is where he would do a job, sweeping up around midfield.

With Peter Barry back to full fitness, there isn't likely to be a huge supply of ball getting in there anyway. Up front, I would play Henry at centre-forward, exploit Galway's weak point the last day, keep DJ at full, and let the goals flow. And Kilkenny will need goals to win.

Will they get them?

I believe they will and enough to win. I've said all along it will be a Kilkenny-Cork final, and I'm not changing my mind. But it will be a hell of a physical battle, and the referee will earn his corn!