There's scarcely been a busier weekend in Championship history than this one.
Sixteen games across the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup competitions, several of them local derbies for good measure, with Tyrone-Armagh the pick of the lot.
We haven’t arrived at knockout football just yet, but the reality is that both of them need to stand up now and declare themselves as All-Ireland contenders or prepare to walk through the exit door pretty soon.
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The psychological boost that a win would bring for either might just light a fire under them for the rest of the season.
So, who needs it more?
Since winning the 2021 All-Ireland, Tyrone have won just a single Championship game out of five, against Fermanagh. Defeats to Derry, Armagh, Monaghan and Galway have followed.
Two of those were at Healy Park and if they suffer another this evening it’s almost impossible to envisage them being around at the business end of the Championship.
Armagh, on the other hand, have two points on the board but were extremely fortunate to survive the Westmeath ambush last weekend. It took a typical Armagh-style goal from a long dropping ball into the square to save them.
They are now a team at a crossroads. About 12 months ago they were starting to capture the imagination with some brilliant attacking football but now, like the majority of teams, they have become safe and found themselves embroiled in tactical battles rather than focusing on what makes them a dangerous proposition.
You feel it’s now or never for this team to make a progressive step under Kieran McGeeney. A win here gives them a shot at Galway in the final game with a direct route to the quarter-final the prize.
Last year, Armagh bamboozled the Tyrone full-back line with aerial deliveries. I have said it before: defenders are not used to defending these situations in the modern game due to the majority of teams shying away from taking risks with possession.
This is an area McGeeney must look to again to see if his team can get some joy against a Tyrone side that isn’t overly defensive.
Twelve of Tyrone’s 2021 All-Ireland winning team started last time out against Galway. The loss of Conor McKenna and Cathal McShane cannot be underestimated but it does appear that the team needs freshening up personnel-wise.
A turbulent League campaign for them ended with a final day win against Armagh at Healy Park, resulting in their relegation to Division Two. There will be big pressure on them to repeat that victory.
In hindsight, a three-point defeat to Galway in a wet and dreary Salthill wasn’t the worst result considering they played most of that game with 14 men.
But this has to be it for Tyrone. The sight of the Armagh jersey might just be enough to get their juices flowing and I expect a narrow win for them.
Cork should use Powter to frustrate Kerry
Like Tyrone-Armagh, Cork-Kerry is a huge game. It’s just a pity that there is no real jeopardy for the loser.
Could you imagine the pressure on Kerry going to Pauric Ui Chaoimh if there was no safety net of a play-off in a few weeks? This would be a do-or-die situation for them, similar to what the Limerick hurlers faced last weekend.
The reality is, bar Louth pull off a major shock against Mayo or Kerry, or Cork beat Mayo, both these teams will be in a preliminary quarter-final regardless of today’s result.
The knockout Munster semi-final in the Covid Championship of 2020 was Cork’s only win against Kerry since 2012.
Normal service has resumed since but the 12-point win for Kerry last year doesn’t quite tell the full story of that game.
Cork frustrated them for long periods and there was only a point separating the teams in the 51st minute. Cork eventually ran out of juice and their gameplan fell apart once a gap opened up.
Can they offer something different tomorrow? They will only contain Kerry for so long with an ultra-defensive gameplan.
Kerry may be vulnerable right now and I would like to see Cork go after the areas where Kerry were weak against Mayo. They should attack the Kerry kickout; the Kerry midfield is not as formidable without David Moran and they were wide open at the back when they lost kickouts around the middle against Mayo.
Cork should push Sean Powter up on Tadhg Morley to put the Templenoe man on the back foot. What was a huge strength for Kerry last year now looks a weak link.
Morley seems caught between two stools, whether to drop off his man while trying to cover his full-back line or just mark him. Jack Carney exposed this brilliantly.
In 2017 we played Cork in the qualifiers. Powter lined up at centre-forward and stayed high up the pitch, giving us huge problems.
That said, it’s hard to see past the firepower that Kerry have and if they are in a hole at any stage today the genius of David Clifford will most likely drag them out of it.
Mayo need to kick on in Castlebar
Mayo are back on home turf tomorrow after their win in Killarney, which was remarkable for the fact that there were just six starters common to the team that went out in the 2021 All-Ireland final.
Kevin McStay will be looking for his team to kick on in front of what will be a large but expectant home crowd.
Louth have conceded 6-40 in their last two games. They are likely to be much more defensive this time but Mayo will navigate around such a system. I’d be surprised at anything other than a comfortable home win.
Elsewhere, I expect wins for Galway, Dublin, Monaghan, Derry and Roscommon in the All-Ireland series across this weekend, while Down, Tipperary, Cavan, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Fermanagh and Wexford are my tips to prevail in the Tailteann Cup.
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