The shuddering halt of Galway's 2018 championship campaign has played a crucial role in the Tribeswomen's run to the TG4 All-Ireland Senior final this year, according to manager Tim Rabbitt.
Wind the clock back 13 months and Galway were full of momentum. After being edged out by Dublin in the league final by the bare minimum, they claimed provincial bragging rights over Mayo and reached the quarter-finals without much difficulty.
Mayo were demolished in Dr Hyde Park and while ambitions of reaching a first All-Ireland decider in 13 years were justified, they came unstuck against an early Dublin scoring blitz.
In a reversal of their quarter-final, it was Galway who conceded three first-half goals and that effectively ended the contest. Sinead Aherne sparkled for the Dubs, scoring half her team's tally in a 4-08 to 1-10 victory.
Tim Rabbitt wasn't in charge that day but subscribes to the view that creating the future is founded on taking important lessons from the past.
"We looked at it a few times earlier in the year," he tells RTÉ Sport. "Those goals were hammer blows and we left ourselves very open that day."
The league afforded the opportunity to tighten things up a little and it appears to have worked more often than it has failed.
Getting the balance right between defence and attack is the key for Rabbitt, like any manager, and says that while Dublin have been the standard bearers in recent seasons and very easy on the eye, they rarely let themselves short at the back.
"All good teams are defending in numbers at different times. You see Dublin on numerous occasions with 13 behind the ball, but then they attack in numbers as well."
Aside from Rabbitt taking over from Stephen Glennon, there has been little turnover among players and backroom team, with Glennon still involved in by helping the team out with statistical analysis.
The manager is acutely aware that his team simply have to find a way to break down the Dublin defence.
For the past two seasons in knockout games they have conceded an average of 13 points, while the year before it was 10.
"We will have to post a really good score and make sure our attacking threat is strong. We're in this game to learn and improve and we'd like to think that we have improved, but we will see on Sunday."
Time indeed will soon tell.
Follow the TG4 All-Ireland SFC final between Dublin and Galway with our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport and watch highlights on the Sunday Game at 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
