Consistency is a buzz word that is thrown around very regularly in modern day GAA.
Consistency, or the lack of it certainly applies to the Galway senior hurling team.
This lack of consistency came to a head in their recent NHL Quarter-final against Waterford which was like, “three different games in one, Galway lost about three different times and then won” according to the GAA Hour Hurling Show’s host Colm Parkinson.
This was a game which Damien Hayes counted as the ‘weirdest’ he has ever seen as he attempted to analyse its inconsistent nature, and compared it to the Galway hurlers in general.
“Waterford pushed on and were winning easy and they took the foot off the gas and they let Galway back into it,” he said.
“It was like they got a bit of an ‘ate-ing’ at half time and they went out in the second half and they put the foot to the throttle again and went way ahead and next thing, it was nearly like saying, ‘we’ve this won’ and they took the foot off the throttle again and next thing Galway caught them and got the win.
“It was actually a great reaction from the crowd when Galway won, it was great scenes and all that… then for Derek McGrath to come out on the Sunday Game to say that he was very happy with the performance, and he learned that it was a good league for them and he was happy with everything the way it went, so it was just really weird.”
But despite this lack of consistency and the fact that their last All-Ireland Hurling Championship victory came in 1988, they will always have a great support, according to Hayes.
“They (the Galway hurling public) will always support the team and they will always go and follow the team,” he added.
“I think it will be seen definitely going down playing Limerick now in the league semi-final and I predict that they will beat Limerick in the league semi-final and get to the league-final and they’ll have a huge crowd then that will go to the league final.
“The whole thing is a little bit like Limerick, so it is, the whole thing is about consistency and starting to put in regular performances and consistency comes from players putting in regular performances at a high level, day in, day out and that’s what Galway need to work on, simple as that, consistency.”
Former Dublin hurler Conal Keaney, meanwhile, showed his colours as a Dublin fan in denouncing the league structure. He feels that Galway will be set up much better psychologically when these two sides meet in the Leinster Championship this year.
“Say they (Galway) get over Limerick at the weekend, they get into a league final, everything’s going well for them. They’re coming into the championship and playing Dublin in the first round, and Dublin are the total opposite. They were in division 1A, you know they had a couple of bad defeats…everything’s doom and gloom because they got relegated, two teams coming in at totally different trajectories”
Listen to the lads discuss the Galway hurlers and more during The GAA Hour below or subscribe here.
0’41” “Johnny Glynn is going to be commuting from New York to play with the Galway hurlers which I thought was one of the most bizarre stories I’ve ever heard.” – Woolie
7’15 Tom Devine leaving the Waterford panel
15’45” Former Mayo football manager James Horan taking over Turloughmore Senior Hurlers
22’20” Seamie Callanan on movement and the influence Eamonn O’Shea had on his career.
40’00” The lads discuss Tipperary’s perfect delivery of ball to forwards and analyse Tipp V Wexford League-Semi-Final.
53’00” Galway’s inconsistency, ‘The Weiredest game ever according to Damian Hayes’.
1’00’00” Predictions and accumulators.
