WHEN DAMIEN COMER is asked about the 52 players who turned down Kevin Walsh’s invitation to train with the senior squad over the two years of his management, he seems a bit mystified by the whole situation.
To Comer, there is no greater honour than pulling on the Galway jersey. On Sunday, Kevin Walsh’s squad travel to Croke Park to face Tipperary, with the carrot of an All-Ireland semi-final just 70 minutes away.
“I dunno, why they turned it down,” Comer said yesterday. “As you are growing up, every young lad’s dream is to play with your county team.
“As a young lad Niall Coleman was in my club and I always looked up to him. I imagined getting out on the pitch and playing in front of 20,000 in a Connacht final like he did, that was the dream. It baffles me at time why people would turn down that chance.”
The funny thing is, Comer was a little reluctant himself to join the senior squad when he was first called-up, but he was persuaded by then-manager Alan Mulholland.
“I never thought I was going to have the influence I was going to have. It was Alan Mulholland who asked me to come in at the time and I was kind of reluctant because I thought I was maybe a bit too small and a bit too young, I was only 19.
“I was like ‘I don’t know if I’m ready for it’, but he was like ‘of course you are ready for it, at under-21 you are playing against lads that are playing senior.’ So he gave me that chance to go, I went in and probably grasped it pretty well.”
He has little reason to worry about his size these days. Comer has developed into one of the most physically-imposing athletes in the game and plays a key role of the heart of the Galway attack.
At just 22, Comer sees himself as one of the “experienced campaigners” in the Galway squad. Things have come full-circle for the Annaghdown forward. In his first year on the panel, he came on as a substitute during Galway’s backdoor win over Tipperary in Tullamore.
This time around the same counties meet in the last eight of the All-Ireland, a prospect he is clearly relishing.
“Every Galway team always has belief but when you’re not getting the results it’s kind of hard to keep that belief. This year we’ve got the results so we have the belief, but we know we have a lot of work to do so that’s probably the difference.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. Tipperary are a fine side, they’re going to bring everything and with 15 on 15 on the pitch, anything can happen so we’ve got to keep the heads down for the week and work hard and hope that it’s enough to get us over the line.”
“Myself and Danny [Cummins] working inside [against Roscommon], I don’t think we have ever played so well together. If we can keep playing that style of football and get that out of ourselves, we will be very impressed, especially on an open pitch like Croker. We are excited for it.”
Like their hurling counterparts in recent weeks, the Galway footballers had a chip on their shoulder after their chances of beating Mayo were disregarded.
“I suppose it’s probably based on our previous performances and we probably inherited a lot of it. Everyone wrote us off. Media wrote us off. Even on the Sunday Game they said, ‘Obviously it’s going to be a Roscommon and Mayo Connacht final’, but I think that just drive us even more.
“That made us want it even more. We knew what we had in our locker and Kevin instilled the belief in us and we started to believe in each other as a team as to the performance we can get out of it.
“The kind of negativity in the media was the biggest thing that drove us on to beating Mayo but we’ve been on the wrong end of a few hammerings from Mayo as well so you could see where we were. It was probably our own doing as much as anyone else but it was nice to get over it.”
Having already picked up a black card twice in 2016, Comer is well aware that one more would rule him out of any potential last four clash. While he admits he’s treading a fine line, he says it won’t alter how he approaches Galway’s biggest game of the season.
“You go out there and you give it your all on the day. Look it, whatever happens, happens, but obviously you don’t intentionally go out to get cards.
“I don’t know would I be totally in agreeance with that rule, but it’s the rule that’ there and that’s what you have to kind of stick too.”
There has been much debate already this season about the reluctance of referees to award big men frees, but it’s not something Comer has an issue with.
“Sometimes you do get harshly treated but in general I feel you get what you deserve and in previous games I couldn’t have any complains. If I feel I’ve been fouled I’ve been fouled and like you accept that. The backs know too.
“You might get a soft free here and there and you mightn’t get a free which you would deserve. It balances itself out, but I do agree sometimes the bigger players are targeted to more abuse off the ball and it’s not spotted. Look it, It’s the way it goes and you kind of get on with it.”
Damien Comer and Waterford hurler Pauric Mahony were in Croke Park at the announcement of EirGrid as the GAA’s first Official Timing Sponsor.
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