RTÉ GAA analyst Eamonn Fitzmaurice is excited by the unknown in what he feels is most competitive Allianz Football League Division 1 ever seen, with a fancy for Donegal to be strong early on.
The much-discussed rule changes have levelled the playing fields in many ways while there is also a blockbuster line-up in the top tier with the Tir Conaill men and All-Ireland champions Armagh the promoted sides this year.
Some close matches are expected in the coming weeks with anyone's guess which county will be in Croke Park for the final in the spring, or those dropping to Division 2.
The work Jim McGuinness has been putting in, bringing back the likes of Michael Murphy, could give them an edge.
Speaking to the RTÉ GAA podcast, Fitzmaurice said: "It’s fascinating. One thing for sure is Division 1 is bonkers competitive. It’s as competitive as I’ve ever seen it. There are no free passes, every game will be a complete battle so teams will be taking points off each other.
"Donegal had their overseas camp in the Middle East. By all accounts it was a tactical style camp. To me that tells you of a team that is a good bit down the line. If you’re able to be focused on the tactical nuances that early in a season, it means you are in a good place.
"It’s a serious test for Kerry on the first day. If they get two points out of Donegal they would be very happy.
"My feeling is Donegal will come in locked and loaded is not based on anything else, we haven’t seen anything yet, but considering the personnel they have and the person is charge of them, and that they seem to have a bit of work done, they’ll be a handful early on for everyone.
"It’s very hard to know overall. Kerry are playing Dublin in the third round and at that stage you could have a scenario where they are grappling for points from being under pressure from earlier games. It’s great how competitive it is."
Results will be irrelevant in some cases as teams look to adapt to the dramatic changes to the sport following the recommendations by the Football Review Committee.
The former Kingdom manager hopes to see a more evolved game for the spectator, coach and player and feels the tinkering around it will be fascinating watch.
He explained: "The proper stress test of the rule starts now. The inter-county teams have had a couple of months to find the possibilities, the loopholes and the issues. All of that will come to bear now over the next couple of weeks. There’s been a lot of talk about them over the last couple of months, speculation about how the rules will play out, so it will be great to see.
"We haven’t had a competitive inter-county match since last July which is hard to believe so there is a huge appetite for games.
"I think when everyone gets used to it there will be a natural game of football. I think it’ll be quicker, more front to back and there will be more contests. Players will need to look up and play with their head more.
"I do expect it to be a better spectacle. A big point is different styles will emerge from the simple reason everyone is starting from the same point. Different people will have different ideas for the best reason to make the rules work for their personnel.
"The game had gone to a place to where if the opposition had got away with the short kick out or a kick out at all and the keeper came out, the set thing to do was just back off them. There was no point in engaging because they would come out through you. If one team decided to play that way, both teams had to.
"There’ll be more room for manoeuvre now in trying to impose your own style on the opposition and not just reacting to their style. That to me is a huge positive. Hopefully we’ll see different style again. It’ll be a more enjoyable game to play and coach."
Watch Galway v Armagh in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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