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3rd October 2018
02:45pm BST

He was racking up big scores which is always a good sign but anybody present at those Treaty games earlier in the year knew well that he was going to make it when it mattered.
Not only was Gillane picking off points, he was also winning his one-on-one duels with his markers. He was catching high balls over their heads before running rings around them. He was coming out of rucks and setting up scores or sticking hard earned points over the bar himself if he ever got the chance.
Against Clare in the semi-final, the 21-year-old embarked on a one-man destruction of the Clare back line. His goal, after he soared high over the head of Conor Cleary was a clear example of that.
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/975772351752220673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E975772351752220673&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fgaa%2Faaron-gillane-takes-no-shit-defenders-forwards-can-learn-154481
It continued into the championship when he completed an aerial domination of the normally aerially dominant Paddy Deegan.
https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/1018484261576306689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1018484261576306689&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fgaa%2Fany-men-learning-how-to-catch-a-ball-needs-to-study-aaron-gillane-technique-173838
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1018497159753273344
Catching high balls is one of the most challenging skills in the game. It takes bravery, timing, skill and much more. When pulled off effectively, as is shown by the above videos of Gillane, it's the game's most beautiful skill. A clean catch also lifts a team and the momentum it gives the crowd and teammates can't be understated.
We were chatting to Gillane recently as he picked up his PwC player of the month award, and he told us that it was a skill he had to work hard on to perfect.
"It is something that I worked on. I would never have been that strong at it growing up," he said.His club man, the Limerick legend Ciaran Carey gave him some advice and a technique to follow.
"It's something that Ciarán Carey - he used to be over us in my first or second year playing senior, he just pulled me aside - I was a tall enough young fella - he just showed me this technique. It kind of took off from there - it was working so I said I'd keep doing it. "It's all about coming in late, coming in with momentum and coming in with purpose.
"I'm not sure really, just judgment - waiting for the ball to land. There's no point being stuck in between five or six people and trying to catch the ball. I just come in at the last minute and try to catch it. It's working at the minute but after saying this now people are going to know," he laughed.Look where that technique got Ronan Maher at the weekend. https://twitter.com/SportTG4/status/1047079087808925698
"He loves to float in behind the defence and come from the defenders’ blind spot, using the defenders’ body to lean on and catch the ball while holding down his marker. His body position is side-on so the defender won’t catch him when he catches the ball – he is always rotating his body in mid-air towards the goal and pushing the defender away," wrote the Kilkenny man.And that's how you catch a ball.
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