Joe Canning hopes that Galway's league final destruction of All-Ireland champions Tipperary will give the players the belief to finally win in Croke Park in September.
The 17-point win last month secured the Tribesmen's first national silverware since the league triumph of 2010.
In between, they lost All-Ireland finals to Kilkenny in 2012 and 2015, and since last winning Liam MacCarthy in 1988 they have lost six deciders in all.
"We got a good confidence boost from winning the league," the Portumna man told RTÉ Sport.
"It'll give us belief more than anything.
"We've been in finals over the past number of years and unfortunately we haven't won them.
"When it got to the big day, maybe we didn't perform.
"To get to a national final and win one gives us the sense that we can actually do it now.
"It'll give us that confidence to believe in ourselves that we can perform on the day."
Galway begin their Leinster SHC campaign against Dublin on May 28 in Tullamore.
The sides will arrive with very different form-sheets; Dublin were relegated from Division 1A and played two less league games than their opponents.
"Dublin haven't been playing competitive matches the last couple of weeks so they're coming into it a little bit unknown," said the three-time All-Star forward.
"They'll have all the Cuala lads back as well.
"The league isn't a true reflection of what they'll bring to May 28th.
"We want to go there with a mindset that we can win but it is going to be tough."
Canning added his support to the expected reform of the hurling championship along the lines of Gaelic football's Super 8 group format, saying he was in favour of anything that reduced long gaps between games.
"Any player will tell you, all they want to do is play matches," he said.
"If that be Champions League style or whatever way they want to put it, that's what they want.
"If it's six or seven weeks between matches ... players just want to play the whole time, and play in Croke Park and Thurles.
"It's great for football. Not so great for hurling spectators. But I think they're going to look into it and have them both on an even keel next year or the year after."
