Does Cunningham go with Pádraig Mannion or John Hanbury on Reid, or pull a rabbit from the hat and bring in someone like Fergal Moore, who lined out in the Leinster final?
Hogan is another player that needs watching and while Tipp had nobody outside of Callanan to fire bullets, Kilkenny have 2014 Hurler of the Year Hogan pulling the strings from deep and with 1-14 to his credit from his previous three matches.
Getting the balance right will prove incredibly difficult for Galway.
Richie Hogan is enjoying another brilliant season. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
If they pull an extra man back on the edge of their square to deal with Reid, Hogan will revel in the space that opens up further out.
Similarly, if you pay too much attention to Hogan in the middle third, gaping gaps may appear inside for Reid to exploit.
2. Where is Joe Canning’s best position on Sunday?
Galway superstar Canning may have scored a Leinster final wonder goal but Kilkenny captain and full-back Joey Holden can rightly claim to have won the individual battle on points.
Holden hasn’t been fazed by stepping into JJ Delaney’s shoes and has been a model of consistency for the Cats in championship 2015.
He’s an underrated hurler and a stopper that will work his socks off to stop his opponent exerting an influence.
Holden’s no flash but plenty of substance and with protection provided from a half-back line that will drop back when required, getting a supply of ball into Canning, if he’s deployed on the edge of the square, could prove problematic.
Advertisement
Cunningham must be tempted to let Canning roam and his willingness to work would really help the Galway cause around the middle third battleground.
It’s expected that Joe will operate in a number of attacking positions as he floats between the full and half-forward lines.
3. Are Galway mentally strong enough to close the deal?
27 years is a hell of a long time to be waiting for an All-Ireland senior crown but the general consensus is that this is a big chance for the Tribesmen to end that famine.
Cunningham’s vow to Brian Cody after the Leinster final that he’d see him again in September was a real statement of intent.
Galway then went about fulfilling that promise with some good form on the pitch, and a newly-found streak of steel.
Anthony Cunningham told Brian Cody that he'd see him again in September. Tommy Grealy / INPHO
Tommy Grealy / INPHO / INPHO
They were excellent against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final, hurling with intensity and a touch of anger.
And the Westerners took their game to a new level in the semi-final victory over Tipp, turning over the Premier County time and time again to finish with a one-point win.
Winning such a tight game is something we haven’t been accustomed to with Galway in recent times and the nature of that hard-earned success is sure to have fuelled them with massive reserves of self-confidence and belief.
4. Will Galway’s changes do the trick?
The Galway team that started the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Tipperary was tweaked and refined from the Leinster final final defeat to Kilkenny, and appears better.
Fergal Moore played against the Cats but now it’s Aidan Harte at wing-back, having made the switch from midfield.
David Burke was at wing-forward against Kilkenny but he’s now operating with some success alongside Andy Smith in the Galway engine room.
Jason Flynn, now firmly established in the starting line-up, came on as a sub in the provincial final defeat and 18-year-old Conor Whelan wasn’t even a member of the senior panel then.
The aforementioned defensive issues that were exposed in the Tipp game will have given Cunningham some sleepless nights but better they happened then rather than on Sunday, in the biggest game of the year.
From 5-15, Galway look well set but it’s the full-back line that Kilkenny will look to target.
5. Kilkenny’s strength in depth
With the clock ticking down, and especially when a team is in control, it’s usual to see a manager emptying the bench to give fringe players valuable game time.
But in the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Waterford, Kilkenny supremo Brian Cody made just one switch, with John Power replacing Walter Walsh.
He used just three subs in the Leinster final against Galway and one of those was in stoppage time.
Tommy Walsh, Henry Shefflin and JJ Delaney are retired from the Kilkenny set-up. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
The Kilkenny team that started the All-Ireland semi-final victory Waterford showed just two changes in personnel from the Leinster opener against Wexford - both of those injury-related.
Colin Fennelly got back in for the Leinster final in place of John Power after recovering from injury and Shane Prendergast was in the team to play Waterford after Jackie Tyrrell was ruled out.
This consistency of selection is an indication that Cody is happy with his lot but the loss of Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, Brian Hogan, David Herity, Aidan Fogarty and JJ Delaney to retirement has lessened his options from the bench.
And it’s evident that Cody is unlikely to make wholesale changes over the 70 minutes unless he really has to.
6. Who’ll emerge as an unlikely hero?
All-Ireland finals have a habit of springing surprises, when a previously unheralded player comes up with a powerhouse display.
Kilkenny know this better than most as in 2012, Walter Walsh was parachuted in for a replay start and earned the man of the match award against Galway.
Kieran Joyce repeated the trick against Tipperary last year and who’ll ever forget Shane O’Donnell’s deadly treble in the 2013 replay win for Clare against Cork?
Walter Walsh was man of the match in the 2012 All-Ireland final replay. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
With so much attention focusing on the likes of Canning, Mannion, Hogan and Reid, it could be time for someone else to step up with a matchwinning display.
What odds on Galway’s Cyril Donnellan exorcising the ghosts of his 2012 replay red card by stepping up to the plate?
Or perhaps we could see Kilkenny’s Cillian Buckley crowning a brilliant display with another swashbuckling display from left half back?
6 talking points ahead of Galway and Kilkenny's All-Ireland hurling final
1. How do Galway deal with the Reid-Hogan Kilkenny axis?
This is an issue that Galway boss Anthony Cunningham will have spent plenty of time on.
In the semi-final victory over Tipp, Galway’s full-back line was badly exposed as Seamus Callanan scored three goals and earned a penalty.
The Tribesmen couldn’t handle Callanan’s aerial threat so one wonders how they’ll manage to cope with rampant TJ Reid on the edge of the square.
Does Cunningham go with Pádraig Mannion or John Hanbury on Reid, or pull a rabbit from the hat and bring in someone like Fergal Moore, who lined out in the Leinster final?
Hogan is another player that needs watching and while Tipp had nobody outside of Callanan to fire bullets, Kilkenny have 2014 Hurler of the Year Hogan pulling the strings from deep and with 1-14 to his credit from his previous three matches.
Getting the balance right will prove incredibly difficult for Galway.
If they pull an extra man back on the edge of their square to deal with Reid, Hogan will revel in the space that opens up further out.
Similarly, if you pay too much attention to Hogan in the middle third, gaping gaps may appear inside for Reid to exploit.
2. Where is Joe Canning’s best position on Sunday?
Galway superstar Canning may have scored a Leinster final wonder goal but Kilkenny captain and full-back Joey Holden can rightly claim to have won the individual battle on points.
Holden hasn’t been fazed by stepping into JJ Delaney’s shoes and has been a model of consistency for the Cats in championship 2015.
He’s an underrated hurler and a stopper that will work his socks off to stop his opponent exerting an influence.
Holden’s no flash but plenty of substance and with protection provided from a half-back line that will drop back when required, getting a supply of ball into Canning, if he’s deployed on the edge of the square, could prove problematic.
Cunningham must be tempted to let Canning roam and his willingness to work would really help the Galway cause around the middle third battleground.
It’s expected that Joe will operate in a number of attacking positions as he floats between the full and half-forward lines.
3. Are Galway mentally strong enough to close the deal?
27 years is a hell of a long time to be waiting for an All-Ireland senior crown but the general consensus is that this is a big chance for the Tribesmen to end that famine.
Cunningham’s vow to Brian Cody after the Leinster final that he’d see him again in September was a real statement of intent.
Galway then went about fulfilling that promise with some good form on the pitch, and a newly-found streak of steel.
They were excellent against Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final, hurling with intensity and a touch of anger.
And the Westerners took their game to a new level in the semi-final victory over Tipp, turning over the Premier County time and time again to finish with a one-point win.
Winning such a tight game is something we haven’t been accustomed to with Galway in recent times and the nature of that hard-earned success is sure to have fuelled them with massive reserves of self-confidence and belief.
4. Will Galway’s changes do the trick?
The Galway team that started the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Tipperary was tweaked and refined from the Leinster final final defeat to Kilkenny, and appears better.
Fergal Moore played against the Cats but now it’s Aidan Harte at wing-back, having made the switch from midfield.
David Burke was at wing-forward against Kilkenny but he’s now operating with some success alongside Andy Smith in the Galway engine room.
Jason Flynn, now firmly established in the starting line-up, came on as a sub in the provincial final defeat and 18-year-old Conor Whelan wasn’t even a member of the senior panel then.
The aforementioned defensive issues that were exposed in the Tipp game will have given Cunningham some sleepless nights but better they happened then rather than on Sunday, in the biggest game of the year.
From 5-15, Galway look well set but it’s the full-back line that Kilkenny will look to target.
5. Kilkenny’s strength in depth
With the clock ticking down, and especially when a team is in control, it’s usual to see a manager emptying the bench to give fringe players valuable game time.
But in the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Waterford, Kilkenny supremo Brian Cody made just one switch, with John Power replacing Walter Walsh.
He used just three subs in the Leinster final against Galway and one of those was in stoppage time.
The Kilkenny team that started the All-Ireland semi-final victory Waterford showed just two changes in personnel from the Leinster opener against Wexford - both of those injury-related.
Colin Fennelly got back in for the Leinster final in place of John Power after recovering from injury and Shane Prendergast was in the team to play Waterford after Jackie Tyrrell was ruled out.
This consistency of selection is an indication that Cody is happy with his lot but the loss of Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, Brian Hogan, David Herity, Aidan Fogarty and JJ Delaney to retirement has lessened his options from the bench.
And it’s evident that Cody is unlikely to make wholesale changes over the 70 minutes unless he really has to.
6. Who’ll emerge as an unlikely hero?
All-Ireland finals have a habit of springing surprises, when a previously unheralded player comes up with a powerhouse display.
Kilkenny know this better than most as in 2012, Walter Walsh was parachuted in for a replay start and earned the man of the match award against Galway.
Kieran Joyce repeated the trick against Tipperary last year and who’ll ever forget Shane O’Donnell’s deadly treble in the 2013 replay win for Clare against Cork?
With so much attention focusing on the likes of Canning, Mannion, Hogan and Reid, it could be time for someone else to step up with a matchwinning display.
What odds on Galway’s Cyril Donnellan exorcising the ghosts of his 2012 replay red card by stepping up to the plate?
Or perhaps we could see Kilkenny’s Cillian Buckley crowning a brilliant display with another swashbuckling display from left half back?
Sky Sports GAA reporter had this brilliant wedding day video for his brother
Tomás Mulcahy threw his hat in the ring for the Cork hurling job last night – or did he?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
COMP:ALL-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship GAA KilkvGal Let Battle Commence Galway Kilkenny