When Robert Finnerty emerged from the Athletic Grounds tunnel as a second-half substitute for Galway's round six match with Armagh, the threat of relegation was becoming more menacing.
Four points down, soon to be five when the Orchard County grabbed the first point after the break, the Tribesmen looked like they’d be relying on a final day showdown with Kerry to save their skin or, at best, would require other results to go their way.
But this Galway side is made of stern stuff and they overpowered their opponents in the second period before edging the Kingdom in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final. Relegation worries were replaced with the prospect of a first Division 1 title in 42 years when they face Mayo on Sunday at Croke Park.
The three-game run has similarities to that last league success back in 1981 when Barry Brennan captained the side to National League glory.
They defeated Armagh in the quarter-final, Kerry in the semi-final and it could have been Mayo in the decider too only they lost out to Connacht rivals Roscommon in the other last-four clash.
A small omen maybe, and perhaps another one lies in the fact that Wicklow won the Division 4 title that season. A few Galway fans may be cheering on the Garden County on Saturday evening against Sligo.
Buoyed by the direction their league campaign ultimately ended up taking, Finnerty is relishing the chance to return to the Croke Park sod for the first time since last year’s All-Ireland final loss to Kerry.
"Personally I think any chance you get to play in a final in a Croke Park is unreal," he said.
"I’m all for a league final whether you play first or second, it’s a great opportunity to get a run out in Croker in a big game, a big crowd, and it’ll add to your experience going into championship. I think it’s huge."
The very idea of league finals is a matter for debate, particularly when analysing those with genuine Sam Maguire credentials.
Galway have only four titles to their name though and the Salthill-Knocknacarra man leaves you in no doubt that Pádraic Joyce’s side will not be letting their eye wander to their upcoming Connacht championship campaign.
"We want to win every single game we play, whether it’s a league game, a league final, the first round of the Connacht championship.
"At the end of the year if we don’t have a Connacht medal, it’s probably not going to be a successful year.
"We want to win every competition we’re involved in, whether it’s a league, Connacht championship or an All-Ireland and that’s what we’re setting out to do.
"We’ll take it game by game so we’ll try and win the league final at the weekend and we’ll focus on the Connacht championship after that."
Over Joyce’s four years in charge, Finnerty has developed into a key player in the Galway framework.
An All-Star nomination in 2022 was proof of that, but the player admits that it did take time to develop from the individual shooter who had lit up the Galway club championship to realising that the whole is greater than the sum of all parts.
"I think I first came into the panel around 2019 so I would have probably have been 20 that year.
"I probably wasn’t strong enough physically at the time so a lot of gym work had to be done.
"I would have felt that I always had the skills to compete at the top level so it was probably just about getting a good strength and conditioning programme and trying to get through that.
"Tactically, there’s a lot that goes into senior inter-county football whereas there’s not as much in your minor, your under-21, your club football.
"[It’s about] trying to soak up as much knowledge as you can off coaches and off other lads. That would have helped me a lot."
"You wouldn’t really understand before you go in the amount of detail that goes into it," he continued.
"The amount of small things, you could be literally be one metre off being in the right position for the team, whether it’s on a kick-out or a defensive structure.
"A lot of it I wouldn’t have focussed on growing up because as an inside forward I almost had a tag on myself that I wasn’t leaving the 45 too often whereas that has to change for senior football....I have been in four years, maybe five, so I’m well used to it at this stage.
"You get your chance to stay up at times but you also have to do what’s best for the team, you have to do whatever your role is as part of the defensive system as well."
The player’s mood is bright heading to Dublin. An ankle injury picked up in the league opener against Mayo left him on the training bike for the guts of a month - "you’re sitting on a bike in the gym and you’re going nowhere" - but his return was fairly rapid and he will get more valuable minutes in the legs this weekend.
His father Anthony, who played for Mayo for a decade, will be roaring him on despite his past loyalties and the opportunities of the new season are starting to really come into focus.
"I’m delighted to be back on the pitch now, it’s where you want to be. You don’t want to be off in the gym looking out the window at lads training, you want to be out there. I’m happy out, it’s good to be back."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
