A year on from last meeting in the All-Ireland round-robin, Dublin and Roscommon face off again at Croke Park, with Éamonn Fitzmaurice not expecting the Dubs to be as passive as they were in the drawn encounter from 12 months ago, while adding they will improve on their Leinster final showing.
With Mayo overcoming Cavan in the first of the Group 2 fixtures last weekend, Davy Burke's Rossies are the visitors to GAA HQ on Saturday evening for the other first round game. Last year's clash between the pair finished level.
Roscommon, in fact, put themselves in a strong position to claim a landmark win when they led by four points with half an hour remaining. But having then been overtaken by a resurgent Dublin, and after falling two points behind, stoppage-time points from substitute Conor Cox and Donie Smith earned the Connacht side a deserved draw.
It was a game where Roscommon frustrated their hosts for large parts. For a six-minute period, the Rossies played keep-ball and goalkeeper Conor Carroll had 19 possessions during that spell.
Speaking on the latest edition of the RTÉ GAA Podcast, Éamonn Fitzmaurice reflected on that encounter and saw similarities with how Dublin struggled against Louth in the recent provincial decider - a game where they won in the end by four points.
"This time last year Roscommon had finished third in Division 1 and had a bit of momentum. It was the first year of the Davy Burke project; Mark McHugh was involved with them and by all accounts he was influential within the group.
"They were going well and went up to Dublin with a very set plan. Bodies behind was one thing but I think the thing they [Dublin] struggled to deal with most was the possession-based football from Roscommon that day and it surprised Dublin.
"They didn't react very well to it and they were off the pace - a bit similar to the way they were in the Leinster final against Louth. I would suspect that that was the thing they didn't do well against Louth; they were getting to the point of contact but not making contact. I'll be interested to see how they'll deal with Roscommon this time round."
So, a more aggressive approach from Dublin then? Well, that's what Fitzmaurice expects from the defending All-Ireland champions as they start their defence in earnest.
"Will they go after them high up the field? Will they go up the field and try and go after Conor Carroll when he is in possession? Or will it be the next pass they'll go after? I don't expect Dublin to be as passive this time and I think that will be the deciding of the game."
The 2014 All-Ireland winning manager also stressed the importance of topping your group in this All-Ireland series, and that will also focus Dublin minds, he added.
"Dessie Farrell was saying that everyone last year was trying to figure out the new format, the group games. A big lesson that was learned last year was the importance of finishing in first position. I think we'll see a different because they will have been disappointed with aspects of that Leinster final appearance."
Follow a live blog of the All-Ireland SFC group stage games on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
