Galway have the ingredients to sparkle in summer

Galway, Kerry and Roscommon are the only unbeaten teams in the four divisions of the Allianz Football League going into the last round of games.

And Galway are the only side with a 100% record, winning all six games so far.

They are the highest scorers with 123. An average score of 0-20 per game is impressive. They have scored at least a goal in every game.

Galway have defended well too. They did concede more than they would have liked in their games against Offaly and Cork. However in all their other clashes they kept the opposition's scoreline down impressively, conceding an average of 0-09 a game.

Galway have serious winning pedigree, having won nine All-Irelands - only Kerry and Dublin are ahead of them. Since their last All-Ireland win in 2001 they've had periods where the team were simply not contenders.

Their underage success - they had minor final appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2019, were Under-20 finalists in 2017 and winners in 2020 - has helped to fuel the present group.

Add in the return of key players from long-term injuries and the confidence that can be gained from Sigerson success and Corofin's All-Ireland Club success and you get a real melting pot for Padraic Joyce and his management team.

What does 2022 have in store for Galway then? Are they ready to compete in the latter stage of the Championship?

Close analysis of their game against Derry would suggest they have a number of things going their way.

A team of footballers

We are all familiar with the footballing skills of the likes of Paul Conroy and Shane Walsh, but on this Galway team every player is comfortable on the ball, regardless of the numbers on their backs.

Galway's defenders are not there just to mark a man.

They are comfortable galloping up the field