Niall Corcoran expects Dublin and Galway to improve in Tullamore

There were presumably no assurances of a little more proper championship hurling this time as part of the live television agreement, although both Dublin and Galway are effectively promising that anyway going into Saturday's Leinster quarter-final replay at Tullamore.

The game, despite some earlier indications to the contrary, will now be broadcast live on RTÉ 2 (throw-in 4.45), after the GAA gave consideration to the request. Contractually, the GAA are not permitted to allow games go out in competition with others that are already an agreed part of the live schedules, although even if the Dublin-Galway game does require extra-time, it won’t cut directly to Sky Sports’ first live football game of the summer, the Kildare-Laois Leinster football quarter-final (throw-in 7.0, also in Tullamore).

RTÉ 2’s live broadcast will certainly ease some demand on the match tickets, as there was some concern over Tullamore’s capacity of 20,000. The decision to broadcast the replay live also means a slightly earlier start to RTÉ 2’s live coverage of the Champions League final from Berlin, between Juventus and Barcelona, which will now start at 6.45, directly after the live broadcast from Tullamore (kick-off in Berlin is 7.45).

Meanwhile, both Dublin and Galway have been talking up a bigger and better game compared to the tame draw played out in Croke Park on Sunday – which finished Dublin 0-20 to Galway’s 1-17.

Heavy clash

The good news for Galway is that both

Iarla Tannian

and

Joseph Cooney

have been passed fit for the replay, despite picking up knocks in the drawn game. Tannian was involved in a heavy clash with Dublin’s Ryan O’Dwyer and came off just before the end, and Cooney was also replaced in the second half, suffering from a leg injury.

David Burke, Daithi Burke and Niall Burke are also back in the running for selection after their recent spells on the sidelines (David Burke actually came on for the last four minutes the last day, replacing Andy Smith).

Former Galway and now Dublin hurler Niall Corcoran has also been talking up Dublin's prospects of improvement. Speaking at the announcement of a new three-year sponsorship deal between his club, Kilmacud Crokes, and Bank of Ireland, Corcoran believes both teams will believe there is significant room for improvement.

“Both teams can say they didn’t play near their potential,” said Corcoran, when speaking to the MC at the event at the Kilmacud clubhouse. “And for the first championship game you will always be a bit nervous. And we have a few championship debutants as well. They should be well settled in now for Saturday.

“And the atmosphere in Croke Park could have been a bit flat. Any time you play before the footballers, with the crowd still spilling in, can be flat, and I think Tullamore will be different. We’re hoping for a huge crowd, and add a bit of bite.”

Both teams certainly had their chances of winning on Sunday – Dublin's David Treacy missing a late free, while Galway missed a series of goal chances, especially in the first half, including a near open goal for Joe Canning.

“I think both teams didn’t play near to where they can play. You still don’t really know what Galway team will show up. But they’ll probably have looked at us now and seen the way we play too. So I think a lot of it will come down to individual players, and if we can get a few of our top players to fire – and them too, the likes of Joe Canning.”