LEINSTER SHC FIRST ROUND:The resurgence of Ger Farragher's hurling career was helped by shrewd management and coincides with Galway's reawakening, writes KEITH DUGGAN

GALWAY BEING Galway, the jury is still out on whether there is anything "different" about the maroon county this year. Winning the league was an important progression and the manner in which they defeated Cork in the final a statement of intent.

But, more impressively, there appears to be a calm methodology at work for Galway this season, a coolness that has been reflected in the performances of Ger Farragher - and in the way that the management have used him.

It is difficult to credit that the Castlegar man played senior championship hurling for Galway as far back as 2002.

The glittering minor career - he came within one match of emulating the record held by Tipperary's Jimmy Doyle of three All-Ireland minor championships - is also a distant memory.

Farragher had no sooner entered the less certain world of senior hurling that Mattie Murphy had gathered and organised another set of all-conquering young west of Ireland hurlers, this bunch revolving around the burly genius of Joe Canning, who also pressed hard to match Doyle's long-standing distinction.

Farragher's sole All Star was won back in 2005 and he has known the rough and smooth of Galway hurling in the years on either side of that bright summer.

But he is entering this year's Leinster championship in terrific form.

Aged 27, he has bulked up and he has the experience of previous seasons behind him. When Farragher was in Dublin recently to collect his player of the league award, he made light reference to the fact that John McIntyre had asked him where he fancied playing.

Farragher immediately cast himself in the position he had enjoyed in his minor days, centrefield, marvelling at his own cheek. McIntyre said fine and Farragher has never looked more at home.

Galway's resurgent form at the tail end of the league makes it easy to forget their tendency to drift mentally through phases of games in the early stages, a fault that McIntyre alluded to on more than one occasion.

But, as the county players from Portumna concentrated on trying to retain their club All-Ireland, McIntyre fielded Galway teams that worked hard, shone intermittently and enjoyed the security of knowing they would get a fair crack in terms of minutes on the field.

How to deal with the return of the Portumna players was potentially tricky for McIntyre and Galway.

The general assumption would have been that Joe Canning, one of the best marksman in the country, would assume free-taking duties.

But Farragher is also one of the best dead-ball men in the country and he had been clipping frees with authority since the beginning of the season.

Before Galway played Dublin, McIntyre decided that Farragher would retain the duty.

"He is the man in possession. I don't think it is an issue to be honest," the manager said.

It remains to be seen if the status quo remains throughout the championship, but, either way, it was a terrific example of man management. The benefits of it were clear by time that Galway played Cork in the final.

Canning scored 1-5 from play, Farragher 0-6, four of those from frees. The pair hit half of Galway's total score. But the importance of the decision had nothing to do with who the better free taker is and had everything to do with reassuring Farragher that his days of being bounced around are over.

The graph of Farragher's intercounty career perfectly illustrates the difficulties that so many Galway hurlers have faced in the two decades since the trend of prolific minor successes and extreme senior disappointments began.

He came on late in a nail-biting All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare in 2002 and landed a wonderful free in the 70th minute of a match which Galway lost by a point. Three weeks later, he was back in maroon, hitting 0-13 for the under-21's in a win over Cork.

But he had opted out of the senior squad by 2004, frustrated at the lack of opportunities before getting his break under Conor Hayes in 2005. Farragher was prolific that season and ended up as the top scorer and a member of the All Star team.

But his cause was aided by the fact that Eugene Cloonan had departed the panel before the championship with a back injury. Had the Athenry man been fit, then Farragher might well have watched the championship from the sideline.

That was his experience in 2007, when he failed to sufficiently impress Ger Loughnane. The Clare man

paid tribute to Farragher's perseverance the following March, by which time he had forced his way back into the side.

"I told the dressingroom that he's an example to them all. He spent all of last year on the sideline and was up in the stand for the All-Ireland quarter-final against Kilkenny and never came on.

"He could have walked or sulked. We told him the talent he had and what he had to work on."

That was the point. He could have walked. He could have lost interest as many before him had. Farragher has felt the anxiety of successive Galway managements and has been overlooked in the rush to find the right combination of players. But he stuck with it, worked on his game and had enjoyed the freedom afforded to him by McIntyre so far this season.

The midfield axis he has formed with David Burke remains a work in progress, but it seems that by returning to the position in which he shone as a minor, Farragher has found his natural home.