The Championship continues in its familiar format of one marquee clash surrounded by a few potential sleeper hits.
Mayo v Roscommon is clearly the headliner, with enough subplots for a Tarantino script and perhaps a hint of the violence too. Elsewhere, the games look largely predictable, though last weekend will have injected belief into underdogs while favourites will have been reminded how unforgiving the modern game is for teams that turn up off it. One thing we may see this weekend is a stark contrast in how the new game can be played.
The game in Castlebar should be an absolute cracker. They are two teams that are aggressive in attack and less interested in maintaining possession. There isn't a clear top dog so, rather than having containment of the opposition they will both back themselves to go win it on the front foot.
In the risk vs reward world of kickouts, what kickout you get hands on is only part of the equation. Thanks to Darren Devine's great stats work there should appear a clear decision for both of Sunday’s combatants: Long.
Roscommon had the poorest short-kickout retention among Division 1 teams and the lowest success rate at getting the ones they did win over the oppositions '45. Unless that has changed dramatically, route one makes sense.
Mayo's thinking should be simpler. One anomaly of the new kickout rules is how uncomfortable teams are on their own restart, yet Mayo have been the standout side at winning and converting scores from long kickouts.
In attack both teams show a front foot approach. Roscommon of course have lost Daire Cregg who was one of their main two-point threats, affording Mayo the potential to sit just a notch deeper and given the Rossies' excellent ability to run through defences and hit the net, it’s an option Mayo will likely need to take up.
Mayo meanwhile shown significant signs of change this spring. One of the most shy teams in terms of two-pointers in 2025 they are now unleashing at will. By the start of March, they had already overhauled their previous seasons two-pointer tally.
While I have seen an improvement in Mayo’s ability to build a successful slow attack, their 'get it in quick, have-a-go mentality' is stronger than ever under Andy Moran.
With two teams that wholeheartedly buy into the faster attacks, easier scores philosophy, this is a game that should fizz and highlight the best of the modern game.
'With parking the bus to frustrate vaunted opponents removed from the playbook, holding onto the ball is your next best option'
Up the road in Letterkenny, we could well see the opposite. Donegal under Jim McGuinness and Down under Conor Laverty are arch pragmatists. The fact that Laverty got Jimmy involved with Down during his Donegal sabbatical, says it all while their respective Division 1 and 3 league finals gave further evidence of a similarity in approach.
Rather than speed, possession is king. Those stats I spoke of regarding faster attacks carrying the more effective scoring returns have a number of clear exceptions to the rule.
The two most obvious are a pair of goals that, given their striking similarity, are a brilliant insight into Donegal’s attacking principles. Conor O’Donnell’s goals against both Armagh and Kerry during the league both hit the net pretty much bang on three minutes from Donegal winning possession.
Three minutes where there was barely an opposition paw laid on them, so determined were Donegal to maintain possession and stay out of contact. Of course, those two were the mainstay of the game in the blanket defence era.
In this mindset, if breaking down 15 players was possible back while retaining control, then facing 11 should make it simply more effective. Back then when you shot, the opposition had very high likelihood of retaining possession, now of course not so much. The rewards of the approach only compound making any unnecessary loss of possession almost unforgiveable. Possession becomes nine-tenths of the law again.
Down subscribe to this too of course and have an additional reason to keep this approach when going in as clear underdogs. With parking the bus to frustrate vaunted opponents removed from the playbook, holding onto the ball is your next best option.
It’s simple maths. In a half of 35 minutes, if you have 10-15 attacks and make them last two to three minutes each, you massively eat into the time your vaunted opponents have to do damage.
Donegal are exceptionally aggressive in defence in tighter spaces but conserve energy when the game is more open, setting up goal side and waiting for the opposition to advance into their web.
If they do this, Down will happily play keep ball. While one team playing keep ball can be impressive to watch, e.g. their league final against Kerry, then two teams mirroring each other brings back the horrors of yesteryear.
Neither team of course will be perturbed by the spectacle as they embrace the tactical battle of who will blink first. Last year’s Ulster semi-final between the two teams was a sticky grind and there's not much to suggest this weekends will be any different.
The one chink that could change everything is the Down kickout. They are reliant on short and mid-range kicks with only one main physical presence for a long ball in Odhran Murdock.
Donegal’s focus on opposition kickouts and its impact was clear in the league final. Witness Conor O’Donnell’s reaction in the moments after his goal as he sprinted back to his position to cover off any potential Kerry short to his corner.
With their wall of big men across the middle and the surrounding pace, Donegal will be aiming to put Down in a choke hold before any arm wrestle breaks out.
As it ever could, the game can be played in various ways. In these two games we could see the opposite ends of the modern game's spectrum. As supporters we will judge it on our personal likes. As managers and players, it’s about results. New rules. Same law.
Watch Mayo v Roscommon in the Connacht Football Championship on Sunday from 3.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on The Saturday Game and The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
