RTÉ GAA analyst Tomás Ó Sé has said that the pressure on Galway to deliver an All-Ireland title is something the Tribe County should welcome as they continue their pursuit of a first Sam Maguire success since 2001.
Like last year, when they lost to Armagh by a point in the decider, Pádraic Joyce's side enter the All-Ireland arena with a Connacht title safely tucked away – their fourth provincial success in a row – and are favourites to get their Group 4 campaign off to a winning start when Dublin visit Salthill this evening.
"Galway will be looking at this group and they’ll have a serious hunger to make sure they top that group and get through straight to the quarter-finals," Ó Sé told the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"I’d imagine they’re desperate hungry for it, there’s probably a pressure on them to deliver an All-Ireland now in Galway. That’s a good thing to have.
"They have absolutely dominated Connacht and it’s something Mayo had a grip on, [but] they’ve come in and dismantled that, they’re ruling the roost up there.
"Now the next step for them, and has been in fairness, last year you’d imagine an All-Ireland was the end game as well, but that’s definitely the target here."
Joyce’s side dumped out Dublin at the quarter-final stage last year – their first championship win in the fixture in 90 years – and it was viewed as a shock result, but a repeat 11 months on wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows.
"They way things are at the minute for Dublin, the struggles that they have, I think Dublin will be under pressure against a Galway team that are physically very dominant and playing well at the moment," Ó Sé added.
The five-time All-Star said that Dublin’s recent past means that they can never be ruled out, but he hasn't much faith in their ability to leave the west with two points.
"You're not going to write Dublin off, there’s still an awful amount of quality there.
"I think they struggled with their kick-outs, teams will defend strongly enough and I think when you get to this stage of the year when there’s less teams involved and you get to the knock-out stage, it’ll come basically to what firepower you have up front and how you can score.
"There’s no doubt about it, call it transition or whatever you like, but the fear factor is gone."
Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship on Saturday and Sunday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game (9.40pm) and The Sunday Game (9.30pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and listen live on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
Watch a Munster Hurling Championship double-header, Tipperary v Waterford and Limerick v Cork, on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
