The Leinster Football Championship throws in this weekend and for a Wicklow side that was relegated to Allianz Football League Division 4, the good news is that their talented goalkeeper Mark Jackson is back – for the moment anyway – from his NFL kicking trials and rejoined the panel.
Along with Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan and Down's Charlie Smyth - the latter recently signing a three-year deal to become a kicker with the New Orleans Saints - Jackson was part of a trio of GAA players that tackled the recent NFL Combine, impressing scouts.
He has also signed with NFL agent Rob Roche, who manages the highest paid kicker in the league, Justin Tucker.
But while he awaits news on his future from the US, Jackson has been back home and a presence among his inter-county team-mates, with Wicklow and Blessington sharpshooter Kevin Quinn among those pleased to have him around as the panel prepare for Sunday's clash against Division 3 champions Westmeath in Portlaoise.
'It's something different to what I'm used to but it's a cool journey'
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Rory Beggan and Mark Jackson among the Irish athletes preparing themsevles ahead of NFL trials@LawlorDamian reports from Abbotstown pic.twitter.com/loWvPHohwE
"Mark was back training with us last Saturday," says Quinn.
"I don't know what his plan is. I think he’s still in talks with clubs in America but it’s great to have him back around.
"He’s a great lad and it gave us a bit of a boost as well seeing him back. Even looking at a few videos of his kicks in the trials you could see his class and I wish him all the best no matter what he does."
Aside from Westmeath and Wicklow's encounter, Sunday will also see Longford host Meath, and Wexford welcome Carlow.
For all those teams and more, the prospect of stopping Dublin from clinching 14 provincial titles in a row looks as remote as ever.
Only four Leinster teams will play league football in the top two divisions next season and while it seemed like the gap between the Dubs and the rest may have closed slightly up to two years ago, the distance would still appear to be significant based on the form that Dessie Farrell's men showed from round three of the league onwards.
Still, each of the other counties have their own goals and targets to aim for.
Meath goalkeeper Sean Brennan is only 22 and has looked on with interest as the aforementioned Smyth signed for New Orleans Saints last week after coming through the Down underage system.
Brennan knows there is now a bigger spotlight on GAA goalkeepers and place kickers, but welcomes it.
"I think its brilliant for the GAA," he said.
"To have huge organisations like the NFL picking lads from our sport says a lot. It’s like the Aussie Rules with our players going to the AFL. These things are life-changing, although it hasn’t been something that has crossed my mind yet."
Kildare’s Kevin O’Callaghan will be watching the Wicklow and Westmeath game with interest as they meet the winner on Sunday week.
It’s been another disappointing season for the Lilywhites with no wins from their Division 2 campaign.
But O’Callaghan says they are more than ready to turn the corner. And he says the team has to focus on what happens inside the camp –and not what people outside it say.
"Obviously drowning out the noise is a big challenge," O’Callaghan says.
"Whether things are going poor or fantastic we can’t focus on that outside noise."We have a nice blend of youth and experience and once we get the mindset right, we know we can mix it with any team in the country on our day.
"But for us it’s about consistency. We have to take it game by game and be ready for whoever comes through on Sunday week."
Meanwhile, Louth’s Sam Mulroy says that the game is evolving and that the current Football Review Committee, under the stewardship of Jim Gavin, will have watched the exciting league finals last weekend.
"There is a lot of talk about the game and as players we can’t get caught up in that too much," he said.
"But if you watched the last 10 minutes of last weekend’s Division 2 and if you watched the Division 1 clash you saw that there was some serious football going on.
"We can’t keep throwing rules at it either. Do they all need changing? The game is evolving, and it has changed even in the past two seasons.
"Maybe if they looked at the more minute rules – like square balls – maybe things like that you can change, and it might add to the spectacle.
"But we saw this year again that there are enough good players around Ireland, with skill levels that are extraordinary, and you can see that the sport brings enjoyment to people and the only thing I would look at are the few small rules that might hold teams back."
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