A case of what might have been on that last Sunday in July 2024.
Rob Finnerty was imposing himself on matters early on against Armagh in the All-Ireland final. And then after ten minutes that was that. Finnerty had to leave the stage, a knee issue that had been giving him trouble in advance of the decider flared again. He watched on as a tit-for-tat contest eventually saw his side edged out by a point. It was a second defeat in three years for the Tribes.
On Sunday next, Galway begin their quest to retain their Connacht title and also be part of football's biggest day again.
Finnerty cuts a relaxed mood while speaking at an event to mark AIB's sponsorship of the All-Ireland Football Championship. Looking ahead to the weekend's provincial opener in New York, he said: "It is a really nice trip for people to go to.
"I know we were in London last year and there was a massive Galway support and they always seem to enjoy it massively. Again, just from talking to people from my own club and around Galway, there is a good crowd travelling. It is really exciting for them as well as us."
Needless to say, the Salthill-Knocknacarra clubman is hoping for an injury-free campaign in the months ahead, this after he returned to action during the league following surgery on that knee.
But back to that July Sunday against Armagh and the frustration of having to depart the scene.
"Yeah, it was really difficult, Finnerty reflected.
"I was obviously nursing the injury throughout the last three or four championship games. It happened in that Derry group game, there always was that chance you could get a knock in it and it might flare up or you might have to go off.
"It was really difficult, you feel so hopeless on the bench, watching in, especially when it is taken away from you after 10 minutes. It was really tough, but I'm delighted to be back playing now."
And the 27-year-old is back, as he clocked up a full 70 minutes in the recent league game against Kerry, full recovered from having gone under the knife just after that All-Ireland heartache.
"I got the surgery done not too long after the All-Ireland, I got it done fast enough, said Finnerty.
"So, I was out for about eight weeks of the club season, I missed a good bit of that. I got back, maybe played one game with the club, but didn't play much.
"Again, I probably had a good block of rehab to do then after that before going back playing with Galway. I didn't do much of the pre-season challenges, my first game was Mayo in the league.
"I played in that and have been working it up with game time going from 20 minutes, to playing a half, and I played my first full 70 minutes in the last Kerry league game. We've timed it pretty well coming into the Championship."
In what is a bunched field of contenders for Sam Maguire glory in 2025, Finnerty is happy that many are now champing at the bit just to make the squad.
"Of course, there is massive depth," he added.
"We did have a good few injuries throughout the league, especially at the start of the league. We were down a number of experienced bodies, but it didn't really seem like that.
"I don't think people even noticed because so many younger guys were stepping up and performing well. It is in a really good place. Even just making the 26 at this stage, it is really competitive. That is good, that is a sign of a healthy panel, and we're in a good place."
As a player with an eye for a score, the 2024 All-Star broadly welcomes the new rules, stating that it's now more enjoyable to play the game.
"For any player it is really exciting, especially for forwards. Having a lot more space up front is massive. The way football had gone over the last few years, you might only five or six touches of the ball in a game because teams were playing mass defences.
"It was really difficult at times, but now every day you go out you are going to get opportunities, you are going to get a lot more ball and are going to get one-on-ones which is a huge thing. It's really enjoyable and has freshened things up a lot."
This year's Division 1 league campaign ended with Kerry winning a 24th title, this after comfortably accounting for Mayo. A week previous, the Kingdom get the better of Finnerty and co to secure their final spot.
And while the Tribes ace admits there are more than a few Sam Maguire contenders this year, he has been impressed with what Jack O'Connor's side have produced of late.
"They are really impressive at the minute, loads of good forwards. They are playing a nice brand of football. We would have scored heavily enough against them, we put up 2-19, but they scored 3-20-plus. They are an exciting team to watch and I have no doubt they will be there or thereabouts. But I think there are five or six teams that would fancy themselves against them.
"It will make for an interesting championship but Kerry are definitely strong going into it."
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