The young Galway midfielder tells Ian O'Riordan why the team can bounce back from Sunday's loss

Galway aren't just resigned to playing one of the provincial champions in the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals; they're apparently relishing it. Bar a freak set of results in Saturday's final round of qualifiers they'll meet either Cork or Kilkenny in just over a fortnight's time, a game almost certain to define their season.

The draw for the quarter-final weekend of July 22nd-23rd takes place on Sunday evening, and with Galway set to finish runners-up to Waterford in their qualifying group, they'll face either Cork or Kilkenny. Only a major turn in form on Saturday (Galway losing to Westmeath by 20 points and Waterford losing to Laois by 16 points) would shake up that group.

Clare are also set to top their group and, like Waterford, will be drawn against one of the beaten provincial finalists - either Wexford or Tipperary. But the basis of the draw is still open, which means Limerick, who look set to finish second to Clare, could end up playing Tipperary again.

Galway effectively knew their fate when they lost to Waterford 1-25 to 2-20 last Sunday. At the time the two-point loss seemed a disappointment for Galway, but for midfielder David Collins - whose sending-off in the second half was one of the obvious turning points - at least now their future is clear.

"It's either Cork or Kilkenny for us," he says. "We know that now, which means one good team will be gone after the quarter-finals. Of course, we shouldn't look past Westmeath on Saturday, but we're hoping to come up trumps there and go on to meet Kilkenny or Cork.

"That's probably thrown a small spanner in the works, because we're meeting the big guns early. I know we weren't expected to lose to Waterford having made the All-Ireland final last year, but we're taking the positives out of it. We had very little competitive hurling played going into that game. We had the Laois game, but beat them easily enough (by 20 points) and that proved nothing. Waterford had lost to Tipperary and were a lot more driven to win.

"But it showed up a few weaknesses in our team, and it's up to us now to get them sorted out for the quarter-finals. I know we didn't quite perform against Waterford, but there were a lot of positives. Damien Hayes and David Forde, both super. Waterford just had a few more players on form, but we did a lot of things right."

Collins's dismissal in the 50th minute for a second yellow card ("My first time," he says, "and my last time.") clearly didn't help Galway's chances, and manager Conor Hayes appeared to drive home their shortcomings when keeping them inside the dressingroom for a good 30 minutes afterwards.

"Well he did," adds Collins, "but it wasn't all for negative reasons. He knew we'd worked hard, but just weren't quite broken into the championship experience yet. No one let the heads drop, and the fact that I was sent off was a definite disadvantage. Waterford brought players back, and we just weren't ready for that.

"But I still think we're ahead of last year. I feel we were a little iffy last year, and things just happened for us. But I feel there's a lot more preparation this year. I feel everyone is working together and the attitude is much better."

Collins also admits he wasn't entirely comfortable at midfield and is expecting to revert to his more familiar wing-back position for the quarter-finals. And there are further possible refinements in store in Galway, not least the return of Eugene Cloonan.

"I definitely prefer wing back," adds Collins, "and I think Conor will put me back to wing back, and keep that line like last year. I hope so anyway. I feel we're a good unit and working well together.

"And Eugene has it in his head he'll be ready for Westmeath, and if not the quarter-finals. He's flying fit at the moment, and I feel we need him. He has a great influence on the team, has a certain atmosphere around him. He brings a certain sense of unity to the team, talking to the younger players and that. You need someone like him in the set-up, and I certainly have great time for Eugene."

The only other question for Collins is whether he'd prefer Cork or Kilkenny to come out of the hat on Sunday. "I probably should say Cork, because I'm half from Cork. My father is from there. But look, either team, it doesn't matter. I believe we're a match for either of them.

"Cork are definitely a serious outfit . . . I know they fully believe they're not going to be beaten, but I also know teams like that are there to be beaten. And we feel that way too, that Galway are not going to be beaten."