Second-tier promotion tussle has championship edge
The promotion race in the second tier has proven unexpectedly competitive this year and the frontrunners collide in Páirc Uí Rinn this weekend.
Division 1 obviously hogs most of the television coverage and most of the column inches, including the ones that lie beneath this byline.
And yet it's undoubtedly the case that there's an urgency and a jeopardy to the fixtures in Division 2.
True, the greater lag-time between the end of the league and the beginning of the championship should encourage Division 1 teams to go after the latter stages of the league campaign this time around.
Or at least they mightn't feel such pressure to start minding themselves ahead of a looming championship opener.
Donegal gave Mayo a bit of a reality check in Letterkenny at the weekend and it'll probably temper some of the enthusiasm around the start of Andy Moran's reign.
Last year, Donegal won their first three matches and then seemed to spend the remainder of the campaign wondering how they might avoid a league final without making it look too obvious.
The tight timeframe between the league final and the start of the championship in previous years had haunted teams.
We saw how Mayo won the league in 2023 and then were sickened by Roscommon in the Connacht first round seven days later. (We had less excuse when the same happened in 2019 - interestingly, Mayo have lost at home to Roscommon twice in the championship in the last 40 years and both came straight after winning the league.)
The scenario is different this year. There's a full four weeks between the Division 1 decider on 29 March and Donegal's Ulster championship opener against Down on 26 April. They should have a freer hand to pursue a league title in 2026.
Nonetheless, there's always a sense for the top tier teams that just being - and staying - in Division 1 is enough.
In Division 2, there's no requirement for a handbrake. Given the format, you could say that the championship has already started down there.
Teams are jockeying for every place to ensure their chances of being in the Sam Maguire come summer. That's before you consider the carrot of getting into Division 1.
Cork and Meath meet in a top of the table clash
Most punters would have assumed from the outset that Tyrone would be making a swift return to the first tier, to be joined by one of Derry or Meath. And it depended on whether you believed Derry could recover their pre-2024 form or whether Meath could sustain their level of performance from last summer.
But we've seen Tyrone falter big time in the opening two weekends and put themselves in a bit of a dogfight. Against that, both Cork and Kildare have started the league well, the former in particular putting themselves in the promotion hunt.
There's a strong argument that Meath-Louth should have been televised instead of Dublin-Monaghan last Saturday evening - though I understand the pull of the top flight.
Meath suffered a wobble in the second half against their neighbours but pulled it out of the fire in the last couple of minutes thanks to another Jack Flynn two-pointer. We know they're particularly suited to the new rules with their natural footballers and athleticism.
The fact that they've dug out wins at the death against Cavan and Louth highlights their mentality as well. They've underlined their credentials heading into the summer and signalled that 2025 was no flash in the pan.
Now, the two teams on maximum points collide in Cork. John Cleary's side have built on a respectable campaign last year with three wins from three at the start of the league.
The caveat is that they've only registered wins over the three bottom placed teams - though winning away in Louth is never easy.
Still, it makes a change from previous years when they've usually been looking over their shoulder and worrying about securing their Sam Maguire place at this stage of the season.
We were beaten by Cork in the league final in my first season as a starter back in 2012. That gave Cork a three-in-a-row in the league and they were regarded as specialists at the time. We didn't know it yet but they were about to go on the slide.
They've been out of Division 1 since 2016 and the importance of them getting back there can't be overstated.
But I reckon the stronger argument is for a Meath victory. They have a wider breadth of scoring forwards - see Ruairí Kinsella hitting 1-03 the last day - and their confidence is sky high. Although Cork have won three from three, Cleary wasn't blown away by their display in Tullamore.
It's a huge game, though, and whoever wins will be in an incredibly strong position to secure Division 1 football next year.
Derry and Tyrone will obviously come into the reckoning for promotion and you'd fancy both to collect two points this weekend.
Derry may have turned the tide since ending their losing streak, though Tyrone have plenty of work to do - and will have to do much of it without Darragh Canavan. Whether in Istanbul or Sydney, he's a big loss to Malachy O'Rourke, though he'll be available to them for the trip to Ardee.
Darragh Canavan will miss the last three rounds of the league
The relegation battle looks more clearcut at this stage, with Cavan and Offaly still to pick up a point. Cavan were uber-competitive in two tough opening matches, only losing to 69th minute two-pointers, a continuation of Dermot McCabe's luck when he was in charge of Westmeath last year.
But they were beaten out the gate by Tyrone, a case of the same old story in Healy Park. Some teams seem to be beaten as soon as they see a certain jersey, and that looks like it's the case whenever Cavan play Tyrone. You could nearly type out the match report before the start.
They have a chance to kickstart their survival push at home to Kildare this weekend, with games against Offaly and Louth still to come. A lot will hinge on whether Alex Beirne is successful in his appeal against his suspension.
You'd assume if Kildare take it as far as they can, he might get off yet. Either way, their form looks more compelling. It's an important game for Brian Flanagan's side - a loss there and they could yet be looking over their shoulder again.
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