Inside Track with John McIntyre

THE new rules are having a transformative effect on Gaelic football – look at the huge scoring in most of the weekend National League games – and Galway are clearly one of the teams best equipped to take advantage of the extra freedom and space in the opposition half.

After turning the tables on Armagh in the opening round of Division One in Salthill the previous week thanks to a disciplined if slow-starting display, the Tribesmen backed up that win by putting their great rivals Mayo to the sword at MacHale Park on Sunday.

In an emphatic 0-26 to 0-16 success, Galway were recording their biggest competitive victory over their hosts in four decades. Sure, Mayo fielded a somewhat unfamiliar outfit, especially up front, but Padraic Joyce’s squad have certainly hit the ground running in 2025.

With Mickey Graham and David Morris bringing a fresh approach to their coaching ticket, Galway pulled right away from their hosts in the second-half, with the team’s ability to shoot two-pointers – they hit seven in all – crucial to a comfortable victory on a day Shane Walsh was buzzing.

For the past couple of seasons, Walsh hasn’t been quite the same player in the maroon jersey. His controversial departure from Kilkerrin/Clonberne, and his injury woes, contributed to some loss of form, but he looked revitalised in Castlebar, kicking nine points, including four quality two-pointers.

With Cillian Ó Curraoin continuing his good form from the Armagh match, Paul Conroy chipping in with three points, and Seán Kelly very sprightly in a wing-back role, the outcome of the latest collision between these arch Connacht was untypically done-and-dusted long before the final whistle.

Despite the trauma of losing a second All-Ireland Final in three years last July, Galway are playing with great verve and confidence. Sure, they were cagey in that opening league outing against Armagh under the new rules, but Dylan McHugh and company performed with more abandon on Sunday and look at how it paid off.

Joyce is right when he says their haul of seven two-pointers did put a gloss on the final score – under the old rules there would have only been three points between the teams – but judging from the reaction of players and supporters, most of the new changes will be here to stay.

That can only be good news for such an artistic team as Galway. Walsh and Conroy are capable of really exploiting the enhanced scoring return from outside the 40m arc; while Ó Curraoin’s accuracy is another bonus. The Tribesmen may not have won a league title in over 40 years, but 2025 could finally see that famine ended.

Pictured: Galway’s attacker Sam O’Neill is tackled by Mayo’s Sam Callinan during Sunday’s National Football League clash at MacHale Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.