WE MUST WORK A LOT HARDER TO REACH THE TOP
Commitment has been shy over the last couple of years
FINIAN HANLEY has one parting shot for the dressing room he has left behind after 13 years — Galway footballers must up their work ethic if they are serious about being a team that can compete for top honours. Hanley called time on his senior inter-county career before Christmas and while, in his own words, it ‘rained medals’ at the start, it was reduced to a drip by the end. In truth, Galway have found their feet again in the past two seasons. They won a Connacht title, reached back-to-back AllIreland quarter-finals and returned to the League’s top tier as Division 2 winners. So, it could be argued that the future is bright for Galway. But that progress must be set against how they have bombed when hard questions were asked. The have lost both quarterfinals, to Tipperary and Kerry, by a whopping 17 points while their ninepoint trimming to Roscommon in this year’s Connacht final rocked the county to its core. ‘The disappointing
thing is that in the last couple of years we have gone out of the Championship with a bit of a whimper but we probably are where we deserve to be,’ admits Hanley. ‘When I came in we were coming off the back of a team that had won two AllIrelands and a lot of those guys were still there. ‘In my first year we won a Connacht championship, an Under 21 All-Ireland and a club All-Ireland in 2005. ‘I thought it would be raining medals after that but that did not happen,’ reflects the 32-year-old. Galway have failed to deliver on their potential. Since their last Sam Maguire win in 2001, the county has won four U21 championships (a record only bettered by Dublin) yet they have not made it to the last four at senior level. If talent is not the issue, then it has to be its application. ‘We have to work a lot harder to get there,’ Hanley admits. ‘We have probably not reached the work levels of the top teams yet but it is up to the players. ‘I would hope that they know that because I certainly do, we need to put our foot to the pedal a little bit more when it comes to our preparation and our commitment. ‘Our commitment is a big thing and I think we have been shy the last couple of years, because I can’t think of any other reason why,’ he says. From here, Galway will have to find a way of raising that bar in his absence. His decision to retire, announced within 24 hours of the departure of Micheal Meehan, had been anticipated. Injuries have taken their toll and he paid the price for his late return in 2016 by losing his place in the
Galway full-back line, while game-time this year was limited to just a couple of minutes when he came off the bench in a League win over Derry. His push for a meaningful role ended when he ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament in April and the closest he got to action in the summer was, when still well short of full fitness, he made it back for the warm-up for the quarter-final against Kerry. That game underlined his value as Galway manager Kevin Walsh sought unsuccessfully to counter the aerial threat of Kieran Donaghy by starting the inexperienced David Walsh. Hanley, whose quality was such that at his peak he was selected to play in five International Rules series between 2008-14 for Ireland, would have represented a far better fit. After that, though, he knew his body was telling him to call time. ‘You have to look at the time that it takes getting on the pitch for older players,’ he explains. ‘If you have an injury your rehab becomes a lot longer. When the body is not 100 per cent right it becomes another training session in itself to get yourself right to train. ‘Michael [Meehan] and I used to have arrive that bit earlier to get ourselves up to speed whereas that would not be an issue for a 22 or 23-year old. ‘You would have almost complete disregard for your body when you are younger and you will do anything to play, which I did. ‘I have played times I probably should not have, strapped up and taking injections. When you hit your 30s you are more concerned about being mobile in your future years.’ Circumstances have changed too as he and his wife Pauline are expecting their second child next May. ‘For me, it was full duck or no dinner when it came to football and we are due our second baby in May, around the same time that Galway are playing Mayo. ‘You have to get your priorities right and those priorities have changed for me in the last couple of years.’
You would almost have complete disregard for your body