Galway will be disappointed to have missed out on promotion back to the Allianz Hurling League Division 1A this year and now face their biggest challenge of the season when they take on Tipperary this weekend.
The sides meet in the National Hurling League final this Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds and speaking to Newstalk.com this week, Brendan Cummins said the Tribesmen will need to pick their gameplan carefully if they are to overcome the reigning All-Ireland champions.
"Do Galway decide to play the sweeper, which means they're showing their hand to Tipperary?" he said.
"Do they go man-for-man and go on a gun-slinging exercise to see who can score the most? That's what intrigues me most. They have the option to play the extra man back like they did with Daithí Burke last year, but either way it's tough to hold down this Tipperary forward line."
Tipperary boast the talent of John and Noel McGrath in their forward line, as well as John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer and Michael Breen who made such an impact from the bench against Wexford last weekend.
Michael Breen scored four points off the bench as Tipperary ran out 11-point winners against Wexford. Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Shootout
The questions remains, that given the talent that exists in their ranks, would it be a wise decision to enter into a shootout with Tipperary?
"I think it is for this league final, but it won't be later on in the year. I don't know whether it's a move they will make.
"Certainly from a bravery point of view, the Galway players will back themselves and say 'We're as good as Tipp'. They know if they can get a run on Tipperary, they can be their bogey team."
Galway have lost out to Tipperary on three of their last four All-Ireland championship meetings, but as is the nature of this rivalry, three of their last four meetings have also been decided by a single point - Galway winners in 2015, while Tipperary recorded wins in 2010 and 2016 by a single point.
"Joe Canning was gone the last day too, he was out of the picture through injury. That is sure to give them confidence.
"Galway ran riot on Limerick in the semi-final. So Conor Whelan, Cathal Mannion and Conor Cooney inside will like a bit of a shootout and fancy that they can do something against this Tipp defence."
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