“Jesus, we’re 10 points down. Let’s not make it any worse.”
Joe Canning doesn’t have to look too far back through his career to remember the bad days. One of them almost came only three weeks ago in Pearse Stadium when Waterford were toying with Micheál Donoghue in the league quarter-final.
With the game running to a dull close and Galway looking at a double-digit deficit, the thoughts going through Canning’s head were to simply to not allow things to get worse than they already were.
They did that, and then some. The Tribesmen came back from nowhere and absolutely stunned the Munster side – winning by three points on the day, advancing to the semis and never looking back.
Galway took massive belief from that day and what was most impressive was that they backed it up with a league title in the end. Backing it up isn’t something they’ve always been able to do.
In a fascinating interview on The GAA Hour, Joe Canning was asked about the idea that people just don’t know which Galway is going to show up from one game to the next. He was happy to address it.
“We’re trying to get the consistency – that’s the big thing for us,” the lethal forward told SportsJOE.
“Over the last number of years, we’ve always had one big performance and then the next day it’s a little bit flatter so that consistency is the big thing for us.
“We do believe in ourselves and in our own ability but it’s about getting that consistency and backing up a good game with another.”
Now, can they back up a good league with a championship? That’s the debate rumbling at present and, despite Cyril Farrell tipping Galway for Liam McCarthy success, Canning isn’t sure about some of the pundit’s mathematics.
“I don’t know where Cyril got this team being six years together,” he said.
“A lot of the guys are still only 22/23 years of age. We had two lads who came on [in the final] who are only 19 or 20 – Tom Monaghan and Sean Loftus. We’re a fairly young team and we’re not that long together.
“It is good to win a national title, especially when there is pressure on us, because over the last number of years, Galway teams haven’t won in finals so it’s good to get that monkey off the back and get that belief that we can win a final.”
The return of Johnny Glynn has helped to no end.
The 23-year-old is making the trip back from New York for the cause and his presence has had a massive influence on the side. He should be around for the few weeks leading up to the first championship encounter with Galway too and Canning can’t speak highly enough of Glynn.
“We’re delighted to have him back,” he told The GAA Hour.
“He adds something different. You even saw it [against Tipperary], the first ball went down and he just caught it and created a score for Conor Whelan. He’s a monster of a man really and it just adds something different to us.
“Most boys are over six foot – maybe even six foot two or three – but I think the lads are able to move as well. There’s no point having a big, strong team and not being able to get around the field.”
As much as size matters though, Canning’s philosophy is always the same. Hurling wins the day.
“The speed of your hurling is still going to be the difference.
“If you have a bad first touch, then your second touch is going to be a tackle – at this level anyway.
“Your hurling has to be number one no matter what but if you’re able to move around, that’s always going to be a plus.”
Listen to the full interview from 10:30 below.
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