There are things we know we don’t know and they go to the heart of this year’s All-Ireland final. Limerick’s ceiling is a matter of record and it was reached a few years ago. This season, there have been traces of the team in its pomp but unlike back then, they have struggled to make superiority tell on the scoreboard.There have been consistently strong performances from established players but not all of them. What percentage of their best form can they bring on Sunday? We don’t know.Galway haven’t yet reached their pinnacle but are obviously a team on the rise. Their two Croke Park displays were seriously impressive but hard to reconcile with the team that in Leinster lost to Dublin at home and ran huge deficits against Kildare and Wexford before recovering.Both finalists come with caveats. Are their respective lines on the graph about to cross this weekend or has Galway’s still a bit to go? Again, we don’t quite know.What has been clear is that Micheál Donoghue’s team is vastly improved. They have echoes of Tipperary last year. Both showed positive signs during the league campaign and their team profiles were similar with talented under-20s joining a core of All-Ireland winners.Both also improved steadily during the championship, especially in Croke Park.Coincidentally, the most vivid evidence that Galway were different this year was March’s match in the Gaelic Grounds when they nearly came back from an 11-point deficit in a powerful second half. Limerick sat on their oars to an extent but their opponents finished so strongly they nearly beat them to a place in the league final.Galway showed what was different about them this year when fighting back against Limerick in March. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Fast forward a couple of months and they win Leinster for the first time in eight years, really impressively against an underperforming Dublin, maybe, but Galway ran the show – and more or less replicated that against Cork two weeks ago.There’s a sharpness to their hurling and their touch is pristine, so they’re playing with a lot of confidence, not afraid to play it out the back but they pass going forward, as opposed to Cork who moved the ball too laterally.Galway are also able to find oceans of space with their method despite a formation that crowds the middle. There’s no secret, but opponents have found it very awkward to counter.The foundation of the game plan is Jason Rabbitte, often on his own up front and sometimes with Conor Whelan or Aaron Niland. But a lot of the time, it’s he who has to win the ball and keep it for the support running through from the middle third. If he gets swallowed up by the Limerick defence, which the recall of Mike Casey is clearly targeting although that effectively uses up one of the bench solutions, then the game plan is jeopardised. All the more so because Limerick are so accomplished at working the ball out from the back, which makes conceding puckouts a hazardous tactic.Limerick's Mike Casey may have to find a way to silence Galway's Jason Rabbitte on Sunday. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho There are variations, in fairness. If the long ball isn’t on, Galway have been using their assets of touch, pace and clean striking to set up and execute long-range shots.Tom Monaghan, Ronan Glennon and, obviously, Cathal Mannion – who is having a super season, patrolling deep and acting as ringmaster for the team – are all scoring freely from distance.There are injury concerns. The loss of Rory Burke, a terrific young forward, is desperate for him and the team but hamstrings are merciless and his injury six weeks ago scuppered his chances. Daithí Burke, whose vast experience and superb defence have been big influences, is also under a cloud but will hope to pull through.Galway supporters have taken to the team. They have big support and are going in with apparently boundless energy, in a nice position as underdogs. Maybe they have a lot to learn but they have a really smart manager and management team. It’s kind of a free hit for them.How will Limerick counter them? I don’t think they are able to suffocate Galway the way they might have in their best years but at the same time, no county gave them more All-Ireland trouble back then.Ronan Glennon and Conor Whelan were among Galway's impressive performers in the semi-final win over Cork two weeks ago. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Limerick play more in snatches these days, in David Attenborough’s world, preparing for the kill but it now takes them longer. There have also been regular indications of underlying anxiety or nerviness.They have been miserly in defence but that has been necessary because the scores aren’t flowing as freely as in times past. Anyway, Galway only conceded 0-5 in the second half against Cork as against Limerick’s 1-6 after half-time in the Munster final against the same opponents.There is a reliance on a small number of players, who have been consistently excellent. Nickie Quaid’s excellence has been high-profile, which is in some ways worrying because he’s been getting lots to do. Will O’Donoghue at centre back has been outstanding, holding everything together.Cathal Mannion has been Galway's ringmaster this year. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Gearóid Hegarty is playing superbly, as well as he ever did even when Hurler of the Year five years ago and he is front-runner to win that award again. I would include Peter Casey for his key moments, such as at the end of the Munster final, which was the winning of it.Aaron Gillane hasn’t been in great scoring form but his fundamentals have been good and he is the ultimate big-occasion player.Limerick are also comfortable in middle-third congestion. Fit-again Cian Lynch’s ingenuity is pronounced in heavy traffic and his ability to find the right ball is ideal for this. The power of the Limerick half backs and Hegarty is also well suited to Galway.[ ‘If you are called upon, you have to be ready’: Cian Lynch poised to play his part in finalOpens in new window ]My instinct is Limerick still have enough in the tank to win, simply because their players have delivered in these situations. There was a freakishness about their last two defeats in Croke Park, against Dublin and Cork in the last two championships. Their form this year will keep them in contention and the experience of their endgame plus a still-strong bench will win it.