'I think it's getting blown up a little bit': Pádraic Mannion defends Galway's approach

MAIN MANNION: Padraic Mannion during Galway's media event ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final. Pic: INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon.

Such is the hallmark of the Limerick half-forward line to forage deep, Pádraic Mannion has never had an out-and-out man-marking role for clashes of green and maroon.

So often he has drifted into the pocket and sought to read incoming deliveries.

Sunday’s decider will be no different to the meetings of 2018, ‘20, ‘22, and ‘23. There will again be no out-and-out man-marking assignment for the now 33-year-old. He will again mark space. He will again attempt to dissuade Limerick’s arrow-slingers from firing possession into pockets of potential danger.

On this occasion, though, Mannion’s role will have nothing at all to do with Hegarty, O’Neill, and whoever the third half-forward is rummaging out around halfway and even further back.

Mannion’s role is now dictated by how Galway arrange their chess pieces, not the opposition’s.

It isn’t just his younger brother who is quarter-backing and playmaking.

Mannion stood beside Diarmuid Healy at throw-in time last Saturday week. By the 15th second, he had already stepped off and into a protective position in front of the full-back line.

For the second and third balls into Brian Hayes in the corner where the Hogan meets the Davin, you can clearly see Mannion covering 10 metres in front of Hayes and Daithí Burke in an effort to cut out the angled Cork delivery, but such was the precision of Rob Downey that his intended intercepting was expertly bypassed.

In essence, he is forcing the opposition to thread needles if they want to nourish their key forwards with possession.

This approach had a successful example later in the opening half, himself and Cillian Trayers successfully double-teaming Hayes on a pass that came down the line.

His contribution is far from exclusive to shutting down space and shutting down alleyways to inside raiders. To label him a spoiler would be a gross injustice to his game-intelligence.

He hooked Mark Coleman for Galway’s third point. He put a pass down the Cusack Stand sideline for another. He assisted Tom Monaghan, he regularly fed Rabbitte. He had visible involvement in eight of Galway’s white flags.

How Galway operate is unrecognisable from the current management’s first stint. Mannion, though, doesn’t see his own chair in the now crowded orchestra that is Galway’s own half of the field as being any different.

“I was thinking about this recently enough that when they came in in 2016 and the things they had taught me and coached me then, I'm still playing to them principles today. They had such an impact on me,” said Pádraic.

Cork's Robbie O'Flynn is tackled by Galway's Padraic Mannion. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile.

“Use of the ball has probably changed a lot with every team. Teams are using the ball a lot better, trying to be more efficient, but defensively, and I'm just speaking for myself, I haven't changed a whole lot really.”

His nuanced view on the Galway defence in general certainly goes against the grain of what is being written, said, and analysed.

Fourteen behind the ball and Rabbitte up top - Mannion ain’t buying that sketch.

“Players are so fit now that they're able to go up and down more. There was a phase there where teams kept dropping off puck-outs, getting loads of bodies back and letting teams go short, and it's nearly gone back to the way now where teams are pushing up, which leaves more space.

“At certain times there's more space at the back now than there was, but I think people have latched on to the thing of, they'll pick certain plays and see all the bodies back, but if you look at it at a puck-out, there's no one back, everyone's pressed up.

“So I think it's getting blown up a little bit. Even the Clare-Limerick semi, teams push up and let the puck-out long, but then at certain times they're back as well. It's a little bit over-talked about in my opinion.”