Mayo v Galway: When defence can be best form of attack

The golden age of the scoring half-back may indeed be now but they aren’t a new phenomenon. Johnny Hughes — “the great” Johnny Hughes as he is still affectionately termed — is testament to that.

From his customary left-wing back position, he scored 1-1 in the 1973 All-Ireland final defeat to Cork on his way to picking up the first of his two All-Stars. A year later and he picked off two points again going down in September to Dublin.

“It was nothing new at the time for me to being forward or kicking 50s. It wasn’t that you were given the licence. You got on the ball and you kept going. At that time you had the thing in your head that you kicked it dead — over the bar or wide — or you gave it to somebody. As long as you didn’t lose possession when you were out of position.