The old line about not knowing what Galway will turn up isn't strictly true unless you hear it at the start of the year. Once they get motoring in a season they pick up momentum. So far the only setback came in the Leinster final but that has to be viewed in the light of Kilkenny's return to the All-Ireland final.

But viewed from the first day when Dublin should have beaten them, Galway have been consistent and certainly a way better team than last year when Tipp beat them comfortably in the end.

Looking back on the Leinster final it was a very physically intense and severe game. Galway took a significant physical challenge to Kilkenny and eventually ran out of ideas, which meant reverting back to Joe Canning. But they were able to go the pace a long way with Kilkenny and at a vital stage when they'd established some sort of control Cyril Donnellan had the opportunities for a couple of points and Conor Whelan had a sight of a goal chance. All were missed but had they been scored, Kilkenny would have been in a lot of trouble.

I met Anthony Cunningham the week after at a launch in Croke Park and he told me that whereas I was knocking the Leinster final performance, he was happy with it and fully expecting that they would improve.

Absolutely sure

The team had met the night before and had expressed their disappointment with how they played and were absolutely sure that they were going to play better, which they subsequently did.

Tipperary can learn from Galway's games. Cork and Dublin gave them a lot of space but Kilkenny not only took on the physical battle but they tied down the Galway forwards and ultimately forced them back into almost total reliance on Canning for scores.

That's the formula that Tipp will be trying to find because there was pep in Galway's step in Thurles even if you have to question Cork's display. From the word go, they set the tone, moved the ball quickly and their hurling was better – their touch and skill – and they were able to create space. When they create space in the attack they get contributions from all the forwards besides Canning, ball winners Jonathan Glynn and Cyril Donnellan as well as the other three, Cathal Mannion, Jason Flynn and David Burke. They're all tall and cover ground easily. When they get into that mode – which Kilkenny didn't allow them to do – no-one's going to beat them.

Tipperary have to set up like Kilkenny and close Galway into a central position and frustrate them into launching hit-and-hope ball into Canning.

It was very hard to see Waterford upset the apple cart last week but it's not beyond the bounds for me that Galway might.

I have noticed that no-one's talking this year about the five-week gap for provincial champions. How's that impacting? (It never seems to impact on Kilkenny.) Then there's the frightening record of Munster champions in All-Ireland semi-finals but I don't think either of these are going to affect an experienced Tipperary.

There’s a balance Tipp need to strike between the confidence of winning the provincial title and the sense of danger that they need going into a big match, as we saw in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, which guards against complacency.

The sight of Cork getting annihilated in Tipp’s back yard as well as the general history with Galway over 30 years make sure that’s not going to be an issue.

If there's a concern for me about Tipperary it's that their reputation this season was forged against a Limerick team that ultimately were proved not to be at the races. The performance was free -scoring with quick movement and Brendan Maher dropping back like Richie Hogan for Kilkenny with Niall O'Meara coming to centre forward. Maher will win ball but lacks the scoring power of Hogan.

I'm not too worried about the Munster final and the failure to score a goal. After losing the league semi-final to Waterford, Tipperary maybe over-thought their response to the sweeper system. They protected the ball too much to make sure Tadhg De Búrca wasn't cleaning up too many loosely hit deliveries. There were times when Ronan Maher, who's a good striker, came out from defence and decided to forego shots for scores and played short ball into midfield, a cautious approach that didn't always pay off.

The damage

I expect this to be more of a shootout and if that’s how it turns out the skill of Séamus Callanan – remember last year; the switch of

James Barry

to full back was the key moment but Callanan did all the damage in the last quarter – and Bubbles O’Dwyer will be hard to beat. But the Tipperary defence will be the winning of this because I believe they’re capable of shutting down Galway’s forwards.

They need to be tight on the ball winners but there's no point in overcommitting to the contest in the air and it will be important to defend against the man in possession rather than getting frustrated and giving away cheap frees. Pádraig Walsh was more successful on Glynn than Aidan Walsh so size isn't everything and most of the backs will have to be prepared to go man to man when the movement starts.

Tipp are coming into this along the right trajectory. Fully focused they’ve too much experience of these occasions to falter now.