Any hope Galway have of turning over All-Ireland champions Dublin in Saturday's SFC quarter-final is likely to come down to Damien Comer, says former Dubs midfielder Ciarán Whelan.
The Tribesmen gifted Armagh a goal in their final group game and ended up with a draw in a game they had dominated. The result was a preliminary quarter-final they could have done without given their injury list, but Monaghan were dispatched at a wet and windy Salthill.
With match fitness a concern over a whole host of players, including Shane Walsh, Sean Kelly and Damien Comer, a third weekend on the trot was always going to be a tall order no matter the draw. The fact they drew Dublin has made that hill significantly steeper.
While Comer made his comeback last week, the sight of Walsh limping off with an ankle injury was another sorry sight for Galway supporters.
Ciaran Whelan thinks the 'Comer factor' will be crucial if Galway are to beat Dublin with a counter-attacking approach in Saturday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final
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Manager Padraic Joyce has named both in his starting team for Saturday’s encounter, though it remains to be seen how much juice is in the tank for both, while team captain Kelly is still not operating at 100%.
Speaking on this week’s RTÉ GAA podcast, Whelan says that a number of things need to fall Galway’s way to book a place in the last four.
He’s expecting a cagey approach from the Connacht champions, but if they are to stand any chance of pulling off a famous win, he believes it rests on the role of Comer.
"If Galway sit tight – and with Liam Silke and Dylan McHugh dropping in in front of the D - they can be very, very good defensively," he said.
"They are good in control of the ball and don’t turn it over all that much.
"They need that outlet (of Damien Comer). That outlet, when Comer was there against Mayo, gave them a different attacking dynamic.
"When they don’t have him, they tend to play a lot more controlled football, keeping possession for longer periods.
"They are going to throw him in there and can be a human wrecking ball when he wants to be."
Dessie Farrell’s side coasted through Leinster before Louth put up a test in the decider, demolished Cavan and eased past the challenge of Roscommon before playing out a pulsating draw with Mayo in their final group game.
Whelan says that performance has illustrated that there is room for improvement in the Dublin team.
The full-back line and a partner for Brian Fenton in the middle of the pitch – especially if the Tribesmen go long from Connor Gleeson’s kickouts – are issues that Farrell will look to address if they are to retain Sam Maguire.
"I don’t think they are that far ahead of the rest," he said. "There are a few weaknesses that Galway will definitely look to expose. In defence, Lee Gannon is gone, Davey Byrne is gone indefinitely.
"When Mayo went at that Dublin defence, at times they caused a lot of trouble, even though their scramble defence was excellent, the likes of Brian Howard and Brian Fenton getting back."
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Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Donegal v Louth (1.15pm) and Kerry v Derry (3.15pm), on Sunday from 12.45pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
