Former Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice highlighted Monaghan's display as the pick of the bunch on a bumper opening weekend for Ulster counties.
But for Eoghan Frayne's late equaliser for Meath at home to Fermanagh on Saturday afternoon, Ulster counties would have racked up a 100% record in Round 1 of the 2024 Allianz Football League.
The remaining eight Ulster sides registered opening-day victories, Derry and Monaghan both gaining revenge for their All-Ireland semi-final defeats away to Kerry and Dublin respectively.
Tyrone defied gloomy predictions and a red card to see off Roscommon in Omagh, Cavan beat Kildare in Carlow (Newbridge being under development) and Jim McGuinness' second Donegal stint started in earnest with an impressive demolition of Cork.
RTÉ analyst Fitzmaurice reckons that the relative popularity and seriousness of the Dr McKenna Cup leaves the northern counties in fine fettle for the early rounds of the league.
"The thing with the Ulster teams is they always, for the most part, take the McKenna Cup very seriously," Fitzmaurice told Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1.
"That translates into early season league form as well. They had a massive weekend.
"Monaghan, in particular, had a great win. On Saturday, I would have been wondering were they one of the candidates for relegation, as we say every year. They always defy the odds. They've a great record against Dublin.
"But bear in mind, they've had retirements. Rory Beggan going to America at the moment, Karl Gallagher gone to Australia.
"Their performance on Saturday evening was fantastic. Maybe the fact that some of their leaders, the likes of Darren Hughes and Conor McManus, aren't back yet, allowed space for the others.
"Stephen O'Hanlon had an outstanding performance, Micheál Bannigan was very good, I thought Killian Lavelle was outstanding at full-back, considering he was converted as a midfielder and was picking up Con O'Callaghan.
"It's a hard thing to do at the best of times, but when you consider the amount of flux that has been there from last season, they deserve massive credit from that win."
Otherwise, Fitzmaurice was enthused by some of the trends evident in Round 1, notably teams pressing high up the pitch.
He cited Donegal and Kerry, the latter of whom almost pulled a result out of the fire despite the Cliffords' absence, as particular examples.
"I thought a refreshing thing was teams engaging higher up the pitch and going after the opposition.
"Donegal certainly did it to great effect, particularly in the first half against Cork in Ballybofey. Cork found it hard to come out. It seems to be a way Jim McGuinness and Donegal are going after it.
"Similarly, when Kerry had the man advantage, they really went after Derry and brought themselves back into the game and could have won it at the end.
"I'd love to see that as a pattern that develops where teams push up rather than allowing the opposition to be comfortable in possession."
Watch Mayo v Dublin in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 7.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm, follow a live blog every Sunday afternoon on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
