Gary Sice bullish as Galway face 'uncomfortable' Kerry

Galway enter their first All-Ireland football final in 21 years as dangerous underdogs and former stalwart Gary Sice is adamant this Sunday's decider is one they can "absolutely" win.

After a couple of decades marked by lean times, false dawns and a fair smattering of Connacht titles here or there, the westerners are back in an All-Ireland final with a well-balanced team boasting a sound defensive structure and decorated by Galway's usual coterie of stylish forwards.

Kerry, rapping hard on the door for several years, have understandably been installed as favourites since slaying the blue dragon nine days ago but Sice is strikingly bullish, stressing that Galway have a more "settled" structure, one perfectly fitted to the players available.

"They can win this All-Ireland, absolutely," Sice told RTÉ Sport this week.

"I think our structure at the moment is the best one for the players available to us and I think we're very settled in that structure, and that's probably where our best opportunity is going to come from.

"I think going after the Kerry sweeper situation they have at the minute is going to be a big part of the game. I'm not so sure that they're comfortable in what they're doing. They've got an understanding of it, but I don't think they're fully settled into that structure yet.

"I think it's a work in progress. Usually when you change to a sweeper system like they have, that doesn't happen in a season. It needs to be tested, and I don't think it has been tested. Dublin without Con (O'Callaghan) are one thing, Dublin with Con are a completely different thing and I don't think that system was tested to its most the last day.

"I don't think they had the danger behind Tadhg Morley that would have been there if Con was