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Alive and Kicking

How working with kicking coach 'Tommy Perfection' helped Shane Walsh nail his Connacht final frees

Walsh scored eight points against Roscommon on Sunday, including five frees.

SPEAKING ON THE Marty Squad after Galway’s Connacht final victory on Sunday, two-time All-Ireland winner Ray Silke gave a little insight into Shane Walsh’s prodigious talent as a youngster.

Shane Walsh scores a point Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

“Shane is two-footed,” Silke told Marty Morrissey. “I taught him in St Jarlath’s and I remember once I was getting the panel to practice with their weaker foot and he didn’t change (feet). I went, ‘Shane what are you doing you’re meant to go with your weaker foot?’

“And he said, ‘Sir, I don’t know which is my weaker foot.’ Now that is some statement.

Silke continued: “Just process that. ‘Which is my weaker foot?’ Now his frees were with his left (on Sunday), but we would feel his best foot is his right one.

“In the Hogan Cup semi-final down in Limerick one day, he scored a sideline with his left foot from the right sideline and the right foot (from the left sideline). Bar Maurice Fitzgerald, there’s not many that can do that so he’s phenomenally talented.

“It was the best display I’ve ever seen from Shane in senior championship,” Silke added. “Without a shadow of a doubt. He scored eight points. He was glorious.”

Barry McHugh has been Galway’s primary free-taker in 2018, although Walsh takes placed balls from the right-hand side of the field. He gave an indication of his accuracy from left-footed frees in the league final against Dublin back in April:

McHugh was unusually nervy from frees in the early stages on Sunday and missed a couple he’d expect to nail, but Walsh stepped up and scored five placed balls from five attempts off his left foot.

In the past, Walsh has been criticised from his poor conversion rate in front of goals but he slotted over eight of nine point attempts on Sunday – including two from play off his right and one off his left.

Speaking outside the dressing rooms shortly after Galway lifted the provincial title, Walsh heaped praise on their kicking coach Tommy Finnerty.

“It was a good day,” Walsh said. “Tommy Finnerty will take a lot of credit for that. I call him ‘Tommy Perfection’. He’d be our kicking coach.

Shane Walsh celebrates after the game Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

“He’d be very good at things like that. He takes every element into play. I suppose it stood to me. I missed a bit of training before the last game and you can just tell when you’re not practising, you’re not scoring the frees.

“It was a rare occasion, I’ve never seen Barry (McHugh) miss a free and he missed (two) today. Freakish things happen. I scored all mine today and Barry missed so I’ll have that bragging rights (over him) anyways.”

Silke said it was Walsh’s best championship performance for Galway and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment.

Rather than getting too caught up in his own display, the Kilkerrin/Clonberne ace spoke about the importance of righting a few wrongs from last year’s Connacht final defeat to the same opposition.

“The result was the big thing at the end of the day. It’s a nice little Father’s Day present for Dad as well.

“We were hurting from last year and we didn’t do ourselves justice at all. That was a big motivating factor. In the first 35 minutes we were probably saying, ‘Was it a one-off or what was it?’

“It’s hard to put last year into words but this year it was just all about us performing and getting what we really wanted today.

“We just saw it as another game. It was us and Roscommon, it was the exact same as Sligo-Galway and Mayo-Galway. We just went into the game and said we were going to try get the result again, but we had to work through our own process and start from the start.

“Lucky enough today we got out on the right side. We’ve three weeks now to regroup again, lads are going back to club weeks and then we’ve to get ready for the Super 8s. This has been a new adventure and it’s nice to be the first team into it as well.

Damien Comer and Shane Walsh celebrate Damien Comer and Shane Walsh celebrate with the Connacht title Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

“Thankfully you saw the runners, you saw the subs coming on the likes of Adrian Varley, Eoghan Kerin, Peter Cooke, Army (Sean Armstrong) was brilliant when he came on. They all chipped in and did their bits. That’s what makes our team so strong.”

Galway now wait for the rest of the Super 8s line-up to form, with the players returning to club action this weekend. After that, they’ll face big games against the Munster champions and two qualifier teams with an All-Ireland semi-final place at stake.

Walsh is well aware Galway will need to up their performance levels significantly if they’re to make it to the last four, but he feels they can reach another level this summer.

“We definitely do (need to improve). Our transition today wasn’t where it needed to be and our marking was a bit slack. Our forward play was slack as well, not choosing the right shot selection.

“You have to take everything into account on the day like nerves and that. The group is learning all the time.

“It’s a young group so there’s definitely so much more I think in this group. Even today, we had the likes of Danny (Cummins) and Eoin Finnerty that wasn’t even togging and lads that are flying in training.

“Kevin (Walsh) and the lads have the worst job in the world in trying to pick 26 players to tog for Galway. It’s a great place to have it. I really do think that if lads keep driving it we can bring it to another level.”

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