1. Galway’s reliance on Joe Canning
Much has been written in recent weeks about Joe Canning’s best position, whether he is better suited to wreaking havoc at full-forward or if he should be further out the field where possession and space ought to be more plentiful. One thing that is not up for debate is his class and importance to this Galway team.
In the semi-final against Laois, the man from Portumna scored 0-11 of his side’s 2-17 total. Of the five other forwards who started alongside him — and who start again today in Croke Park — only David Glennon (1-0) and David Burke (0-2) got on the scoresheet. Three of Galway’s starting forwards (Burke, Cyril Donnellan and Niall Burke) were substituted by Anthony Cunningham that day.
When Canning is at his best he is capable of singlehandedly taking on most defences in the country and posting a respectable total. But if Dublin manage to muzzle him and limit his influence, the danger is that Galway will find themselves seriously exposed in attack.
2. Paul Ryan’s freetaking
Among the many strengths Canning brings to Galway is his unerring accuracy with dead balls. It’s a point which Anthony Daly will have drilled into the Dublin defence as any slips in discipline are likely to be costly.
Canning’s reliability also ups the pressure on Dublin’s usual free-taker Paul Ryan. Ryan pointed six in the win against Kilkenny last Saturday, but he also missed six and a 50% strike rate means that a lot of easy chances are being left out on the field.
He will need to improve on that showing this afternoon but if he doesn’t, Daly might well need Joey Boland — who scored a combined 0-15 from frees in the drawn games against Wexford and Kilkenny — to take over.
3. Momentum or fatigue for Dublin?
This afternoon marks the fifth successive weekend of Championship action for Dublin. The question is: will that be a help or a hindrance?
On the one hand, they can bank on the experience of four matches at that unique intensity which only the Championship can bring. Not only that but there has been a clear trajectory of improvement since their provincial opener in Wexford Park on 8 June. They were far more at ease in the replay the following weekend in Parnell Park — as their performance showed — and then they went on to outplay All-Ireland champions Kilkenny for large swathes of both matches before eventually getting their reward.
Beating Wexford and Kilkenny should have been enough to guarantee a provincial title but Dublin still have one more bridge to cross. It took a gargantuan effort to get past the Cats and Dublin fans will be concerned about fatigue and the prospect that their side may have peaked too soon.
4. Rested or rusty?
On the flipside Galway have only played one competitive match since losing the league semi-final to Kilkenny on 21 April: their provincial semi against Laois where they did just enough without ever looking terribly impressive.
That has been their only Championship outing this season and so, with three weeks’ rest under their belts, the Tribesmen should be fit and fresh. Whether that compensates for or even outweighs their relative lack of match practice remains to be seen.
5. Weight of history
You have to go back to 1961 to find the last time that Dublin won the Leinster hurling title. Fifty-two years have passed and no matter how much Anthony Daly, his backroom team, the players and the fans try to play it down, the weight of history hangs over this afternoon. Just ask the Mayo footballers about decade-long droughts.
Beating Kilkenny was a massive step on the road but now Dublin stand on the brink of something even more special. In what is likely to be a very tight game, they will have to keep a lid on the emotions and nerves to give themselves every possible chance of winning.
