Training officially came to an end almost 40 minutes beforehand, but the sound of leather on ash continued to ricochet around Adrian Freeman Memorial Park, well after time had been called last Saturday afternoon.
As some of their teammates got some extra touches in, Tooreen captain Shane Boland and full-back Gary Nolan were happy to sit in the stand and talk hurling, as their side looks to book a date in Croke Park.
On Sunday morning, they'll be getting up early - Nolan taking the trip from his new homestead in Hollymount and Boland coming from the village to meet up and head to Ballinasloe, where 60 minutes of play stand between the Blue Devils from Tooreen and All Ireland Final date in Croke Park.
Both men admit it would be the fulfilment of a dream if they could get over Naas on Sunday and head for Jones Road with their club a few weeks later.
Boland believes he and his teammates have learned from their disappointment at this stage, from events in recent years, and are ready to make the final jump this time.
"The last two times we’ve reached semi-finals we’ve probably let ourselves down a small bit too, so we are just looking forward to getting over the line this time. First time was a huge achievement getting there and second time - probably more disappointed.
"In 2017 it was just completely new to us all. We had a really, really young team and I suppose winning every game, quarter-finals, semi-finals in Connacht, was a bonus and maybe it got to us a little bit in the semi-final in 2017, coming up against a Kilkenny team in a competitive game; you wouldn’t have been part of that before.
"Then in 2019, against Kinvara, I feel we let ourselves down in the semi-final; just a lot of wides, we weren’t really composed that day. So, I suppose now, everyone is more settled, more focused and we don’t really feel the pressure; now it's a case of - we have a job to do and we are going out to do it. We have one goal and that is to get to Croker."
Nolan, who has been there before with Mayo, like Boland, added: "Never would I have dreamed, when I was minor or u21, that it was possible, just a dream. You think it’s only the likes of Ballyhale or those big boys playing in Croke Park. It would be a dream come true.
"I and a lot of the boys have played up there with Mayo, in Rackard finals; to be there with the club, I couldn’t describe how amazing it would be."
Boland took over the captaincy of the team this year from Stephen Coyne and they were big shoes to fill and while he might not be fully settled into Coyne's boots yet, he is learning with every step.
"It’s unreal, I couldn’t have imagined it before. I was shocked when Ray (Larkin, manager ) rang me at the start of the year, because it is unreal.
"We had Stephen Coyne before us and he is the best captain I’ve ever been under. I don’t know how I’ll even step up to that plate, but even just being from the village and captaining your team, I couldn’t believe it. You just want to be part of these big games; to captain it then topped it off, no better feeling."
As for the type of captain he will be in the dressing room come a half-hour or so before throw in -don't expect to hear tales of him kicking down doors or breaking hurls to get his side revved up for the game.
"At that stage all the talking is done, there is no point exciting the lads. A quiet word in a lad's ear is the best, I think. Everyone wants to be focused, everyone has their own routine at that stage for the last two finals (Mayo and Connacht ); I’ll be keeping it the same, that everyone is focused and just get a good warm up in and lads'' heads will be right."
Having such a large number of players involved with Mayo has been a bonus when it comes to their strength and conditioning, Nolan believes, and he hopes it will edge them over the line on Sunday.
"The lads have just come on so much, it is probably the fact we have so many lads involved with the county set-up as well. Our first All Ireland semi-final, the lads probably weren’t as physically capable as the Ballyraggart team at the time, but if you look at us now, the lads are as well conditioned as any team in the country and that is down to us having maybe 12-13 lads with the county set-up nearly every year."
The memory of greats from the past who kept the club going and successful right to this day is something else that will drive them on come Sunday lunchtime, according to Nolan.
"From my memory there was never any talk of anything else from national school on, all the older guys on about legends like Joe Henry, Jackie Coyne and I remember growing up watching Dom Greally there, he’s a selector with us. It was just always such a traditional thing, there are so many volunteers in Tooreen that other clubs might not have.
"You come down here in the summer and there might be like 20 sets of parents helping out from u6 to u12 and that makes it special, everywhere we go there is a huge support."
The love for the club is something you can't describe, Boland added: "It is hard to describe, it is complete love for your club and you want to see the future generation coming up and backing up the success that you have set up, it’s unreal."
If all things go to plan, there will be plenty more inspiring stories for the next generation to look up to in the years to come.
