Joe Canning said he felt his team's character was questioned ahead of their one-point replay victory over Clare in Semple Stadium this afternoon.
Galway survived a fiery second half comeback from Clare to squeeze into a third All-Ireland final in four years.
Canning, who was an injury doubt earlier in the week, hit 0-08 in total, three of which came from play.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, Canning said he felt Galway didn't get a lot of respect from the media in the wake of the drawn encounter eight days ago.
"We showed great character. We were only behind once across both matches. And we didn't get a lot of respect over the week from media and such. Our character was questioned I thought.
"People were saying we didn't perform. But only being behind in an All-Ireland semi-final over two games in one instance just shows the character we have."
Canning went down with an ankle injury in the final quarter but recovered to complete the game. The Portumna attacker admitted to feeling some exhaustion after the game but is carrying no major knocks.
"It was tough going with the heat, and especially after the extra-time last week. Just exhausted now, mentally more than physically.
"I had a few knocks going into it. But I don't think you ever go into a game at 100%. But when you get to my age now, you're trying to rest more than train at this stage of the year."
