The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there, or so we are told. Speaking to the Connacht Tribune this week, former Galway hurler Brendan Lynskey, who played in an All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick in 1981, said the game of hurling is on a different level to when he played. He added that it appeared his teams in the 1980s were at walking pace compared to the speed of today’s game. There are some who would say the speed of hurling’s evolution means the 2018 All-Ireland final between Galway and Limerick will bear no relation to what unfolds in Sunday’s decider. However, that analysis doesn’t quite hold water. For one thing, in that game eight years ago, Galway’s Pádraic Mannion took up station on the right wing of the Galway defence, picking up Tom Morrissey initially and then Gearóid Hegarty later in the game. As was their style, the two Limerick men dropped out to midfield quite frequently, hoping to create space for Graeme Mulcahy and Seamus Flanagan in behind. But Mannion held his ground, usually dropping back to try and offer cover in front of his full-back line. This year he’s been doing largely the same thing. And when it comes to defensive play, he says he is doing very little different to how he played when current Galway manager Micheál Donoghue was in his first stint at the helm of the Tribesmen. “I was thinking about this recently enough, that when they (Donoghue and coach Francis Forde) came in in 2016, the things that they had taught me and coached me then, I’m still playing to them principles today. They had such an impact on me,” Mannion explained ahead of the final. “I think the use of the ball has probably changed a lot with every team; teams are using the ball a lot better trying to be more efficient. But defensively, and I’m just speaking for myself, I don’t think I’ve changed a whole lot really.”Pádraic Mannion celebrates after Galway beat Cork in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho Neither does he buy into the idea that defences are more packed, or that Galway have been the ones to take that trend to the next level. “Maybe players are so fit now that they’re able to go up and down more?” he suggested. “There was a phase there where teams kept dropping off puckouts and getting loads of bodies back and letting teams go short, and it’s nearly gone back to the way now where teams are pushing up which leaves more space. [ Joe Canning: Galway must keep playing without fear as pushing up on Limerick is the best way to winOpens in new window ]“At certain times, there’s more space at the back now than there was, but I think people have latched on to the thing of picking certain plays and you will see all the bodies back. But if you look at it at a puckout, there’s no one back, everyone’s pressed up. “So I think it’s getting blown up a little bit. Even the last day (Limerick’s semi-final win over Clare), teams push up and let the puckout long, but then at certain times they’re back as well. I think it’s a little bit over-talked about in my opinion.”Galway’s tactical transformation was revealed to much of the country during the Leinster final win over Dublin, a game where the westerners broke their eight-year provincial-title drought. Some argued that getting their hands on silverware would be transformative for this Galway panel, but Mannion’s belief is that achieving something as a group, regardless of the reward, was the most significant aspect. “I was just so delighted for the group to win a big game together, and to get a few days together after being successful because we haven’t had that in a long time,” he said. “Looking back, it probably was big for us to win it, to get through a big game. But with the younger lads, they’re so happy-go-lucky, they just go out and play. They just love hurling and the bigger the crowd, the better.“Winning the Leinster final and winning the last day, it just brings the group so tight together. You look forward to going training and just meeting up and the bond you have gets tighter. It’s a great time.”