Champions have the fuller deck

It took Offaly a long time to wear down a persistent Dublin side in last month's Leinster final, with the scores remaining at 0-8 apiece with just three of the scheduled 60 minutes remaining. Eventually, they prevailed by five points, but Galway are unlikely to let them conclude so comfortably in Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.

Galway picked up their fourth All-Ireland title over a much-fancied Tipperary last year, which in essence came from a celebration of varied defensive skills that left the opposition struggling for space.

Returning from that team is the heart of the full-back line, Brian O'Mahony, as well as midfielder, Gerard Farragher, flying wing forward and captain, Richie Murray, and corner forward, Damien Hayes.

Farragher and Murray proved themselves the most prolific scorers 12 months ago, contributing 0-7 of Galway's 0-13 total. Like their senior counterparts, the lack of competitive outings may go against them, but there's no substitute for playing with the confidence of All-Ireland winners and that's likely to give Galway the edge they require.

Yet this is the Offaly side that ended Kilkenny's hopes of a remarkable 11-in-a-row provincial titles and they won't lie down easily. It is the first underage side in the county to truly impress in recent years and Rory Hanniffy certainly presented himself as a real talent against Dublin, picking up 0-5 by the end of the game.

Goalkeeper Shane O'Connor also proved to be one of their most valuable players and the whole defensive line-up, led by full back, Damien Minnock, and centre back, Joe Brady, are sure to make it difficult for the Galway forwards.

Stephen Browne also proved himself capable of scoring from wing-back, yet the lack of a balanced attack may leave Offaly coming up short.

GALWAY: Aidan Diviney; B O'Mahony, T Og Regan, N Corcoran; S Kavanagh, Adrian Diviney, K Brady; B Coen, G Farragher; R Murray, JP O'Connell, P Garvey; D Hayes, T Kavanagh, D Greene.

OFFALY: S O'Connor; A Clancy, D Minnock, B Teehan; E Grimes, J Brady, S Brown; M Cordial, A Kenna; B Carroll, G Rafferty, N Coughlan; K Kelly, R Hannify, AN Other.