The four beaten provincial finalists step back into the All-Ireland race and now face opposition who have built up some momentum through the back door.
Remember all games must be decided on the day: if teams are level after 70 minutes there will be two periods of ten minutes extra-time, followed by two more of five if necessary, and, finally, a free-taking competition.
THROW-INS
SATURDAY 7 JULY
Roscommon v Armagh, O'Moore Park, 3pm
Cork v Tyrone, O'Moore Park, 5pm
Fermanagh v Kildare, Páirc Tailteann, 7pm
SUNDAY 8 JULY
Laois v Monaghan, Páirc Tailteann, 2pm
ONLINE
Live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now App from 2.30pm on Saturday and 1.30pm on Sunday.
RADIO
Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 from 2pm will have live commentary on Roscommon v Armagh, Cork v Tyrone and Fermanagh v Kildare, while Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 will have live updates on Laois v Monaghan.
TV
Roscommon v Armagh will be live on the RTÉ News Now channel from 2.45pm. Michael Lyster will be joined by Colm O'Rourke and Michael Meehan for coverage on The Saturday Game with commentary from Marty Morrissey and Kevin Cassidy. Cork v Tyrone and Fermanagh v Kildare live on Sky Sports.
Highlights of all the weekend's action on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
Roscommon v Armagh - Genuine Super 8 aspirants
There would be a widely held view that Roscommon were the provincial loser to avoid at this juncture. And while Galway’s strength eventually wore them down in the Connacht final, Kevin McStay’s side still did many things right particularly in the first half at the Hyde three weeks ago and would now feel that the Super 8s is where they should be.
John Evans started laying the foundations stones, while McStay has continued to put a progressive shape on a structure that has served the Rossies well, with provincial and league silverware to show for their efforts.
Some bad wides cost them dearly in the second half against the Tribesemen and no score from play in that period underlined further shortcomings. That side the Rossies were still level approaching the 70th minute, so they can take some positives from losing their title.
McStay has promised that his side will give this encounter a good rattle, but will no doubt want his key forwards to be a bit more composed in front of the posts. There was a certain edginess when it mattered most three weeks' ago.
On 19 May, Armagh exited the Ulster championship with no more than a whimper against Fermanagh. The road to redemption has yielded an upturn following wins over Westmeath, Sligo and Clare. And now they stand on the cusp of another All-Ireland quarter-final appearance.
Substitute Joe McElroy got the match-defining goal in a 1-05 to no score surge that proved vital late on against the Banner.
Niall Grimley, Rory Grugan, and replacements Gavin McParland and Ross McQullian also got vital scores as the Orchard prevailed by four points.
The game also Charlie Vernon display All-Star form around the middle of the field.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Boss Kieran McGeeney now wants the Armagh fans to show some "faith" in his side.
"It’s funny, you turn around and you see people leaving," he told RTÉ Sport in the aftermath of last weekend’s victory
"Maybe sometimes a wee bit of faith in some of the young boys would go a long way. Everything that could go wrong seemed to be going wrong... the character the players showed was [great].
"We seemed to kick wide after wide in the first half and we overplayed the ball instead of playing it in short.
"To show that type of character and win by four points is something we can be proud of."
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2014: Armagh 1-17 Roscommon 1-12 (All-Ireland Round 3 qualifier)
2012: Roscommon 1-11 Armagh 1-9 (All-Ireland Round 1 qualifier)
1980: Roscommon 2-20 Armagh 3-11 (All-Ireland semi-final)
1977: Armagh 0-15 Roscommon 0-14 (All-Ireland semi-final) Replay
1977: Armagh 3-9 Roscommon 2-12 (All-Ireland semi-final) Draw
Teams
Roscommon: Colm Lavin; David Murray, Niall McInerney, Seán McDermott; John McManus, Peter Domican, Conor Devaney (Captain); Cathal Compton, Tadgh O’Rourke; Ciaráin Murtagh, Cathal Cregg, Enda Smith; Donie Smith, Ultan Harney, Diarmuid Murtagh
Armagh: Blaine Hughes; Patrick Burns, Aaron McKay, Gregory McCabe; Mark Shields, Brendan Donaghy, Aidan Forker; Charlie Vernon, Connaire Mackin; Rory Grugan (capt), Jemar Hall, Niall Grinley; Ryan McShane, Andrew Murnin, Stephen Sheridan.
Cork v Tyrone - Crushed Rebels must pick up the pieces
It's a fortnight since Cork flopped badly against Kerry in the Munster final. All the pre-match talk that the Rebels could make a game of it counted for nothing after 10 minutes on Leeside, as the Kingdom simply ran amok.
A paltry return of 2-04 over close to 80 minutes of football is a damning stat - so much then for the positivity that followed the Tipperary game.
We know how good the Kerry forwards are but Cork offered no aggression in stopping their flow on 23 June. In one-on-one situations, the Rebels were clearly second best and Tyrone will be expected, via their counter-attacking style, to find space that will try and notch up a score in excess of 20 points.
This time last year, Cork stirred themselves sufficiently to push Mayo all the way. They nearly created a shock. A similar response could yield a victory here and games to come against Dublin and Donegal. In the long run such examinations are what Ronan McCarthy's emerging side need if they are to dine at the top table again.
Tyrone, without too much fanfare, are now one step away from where they want to be. In the heat of Brewster Park, they had three points to spare over Cavan last weekend.
Ronan O'Neill bagged four points off the bench in a clash where the Red Hand broke the Breffni resistance after a Martin Reilly goal drew the sides level early in the second half.
Did you know
This will be only the third championship clash between the counties, with Cork having won the previous two. They beat Tyrone by 5-10 to 2-4 in the 1973 All-Ireland semi-final and by 1-13 to 0-11 in the 2009 AllI-Ireland semi-final.
Our own Declan Whooley looks back at the latter encounter in the company of some of those involved - both squads were stronger back then - both squads now have limitations they must face.
Team news
Cork have made five changes to their side for the trip to O'Moore Park.
Full-forward Brian Hurley comes in for this first start since 2016 and will line out beside his younger brother Michael in the full-forward line.
There are a further three changes to the XV beaten by Kerry with championship debutant Cian Kiely, James Loughrey in defence and Brian O'Driscoll in midfield all named to start
Colm O'Neill (knee) and Peter Kelleher (ankle) are unavailable through injury.
Niall Morgan is back between the posts for the Red Hand at the expense of Michael O'Neill. Otherwise, team unchanged. Mark Bradley returns to the substitutes' bench having been sidelined with a hamstring injury since May.
Cork: Mark White; James Loughrey, Jamie O'Sullivan, Kevin Crowley; Kevin Flahive, Stephen Cronin, Cian Kiely; Ian Maguire, Brian O'Driscoll; Sean White, Mark Collins, Ruairi Deane; Luke Connolly, Brian Hurley, Michael Hurley.
Subs: Anthony Casey, Sam Ryan, Mathew Taylor, Tomas Clancy, Aidan Walsh, Killian O'Hanlon, Ronan O'Toole, Kevin O'Driscoll, John O'Rourke, Paul Kerrigan, Donnacha O'Connor.
Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Padraig Hampsey, Ronan McNamee, Michael McKernan; Tiernan McCann, Frank Burns, Peter Harte; Colm Cavanagh, Declan McClure; Mattie Donnelly, Niall Sludden, Conor Meyler; Cathal McShane, Richard Donnelly, Connor McAliskey.
Subs: Michael O'Neill, Mark Bradley, Rory Brennan, Harry Loughran, Conall McCann, Cathal McCarron, Aidan McCrory, Hugh Pat McGeary, Kieran McGeary, Padraig McNulty, Ronan O'Neill.
Fermanagh v Kildare - After Newbridge comes a different challenge
A week on from their involvement in the best football game of this championship so far, Kildare face an all together different challenge as Rory Gallagher's Fermanagh stand between them and a place in the Super 8.
The Lilywhites, driven on by a passionate crowd at St Conleth's Park at the end of a week where the whole county got behind them, had the extra resolve when it mattered most to finally end Mayo's season on Saturday last.
Cian O'Neill's men came from behind late on to seal the deal by two points. They looked assured, classy and a million miles from the team that were relegated from Division 1 with a whimper earlier in the year and crashed out of Leinster at the hands of Division 4 side Carlow.
Afterwards, O'Neill paid tribute to his side and told RTÉ Sport: "These guys have been through a lot this year. Everyone of them, everyone of us.
"But we never stopped working hard. Even when we got the big blow in Tullamore a few weeks back, it knocked us but the lads just got back to work very soon after.
"To do what they did in Derry and then Longford and then come here today against a brilliant Mayo team and management team.
"It was an unbelievable battle. We stuck to our guns and stuck to our game plan and I'm just delighted that the lads held out in the end.
"This was always about the players. It was never about anything else and by Jesus they deserve it."
After the high of Newbridge comes a date with the beaten Ulster finalists in Navan. The expectation of many is that Kildare will march on, but at a neutral venue against opposition who will set up to make it a war of attention, nothing should be taken for granted.
Kildare were on a high last Saturday evening, but no two games are the same. O'Neill's management of the situation will be crucial. Speaking on 2fm's Game On, Bernard Flynn claimed that O'Neill finally "found himself as a manager" this last week, while adding that the win over Mayo won't be worth a damn if they don't beat Fermanagh".
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
As for the Ernesiders, their second-half display in the Ulster decider offered some crumbs of comfort, but only some, on a day in which they were clearly second best against Donegal.
Manager Gallagher said as much afterwards and they'll need to pick it up big time if they are to have any chance of facing the likes of Galway and Kerry in the Super 8.
Did you know
They meet for only the second time in the championship, with Kildare having won the first tie in Croke Park by 0-11 to 0-o5 in Round 4 of the 2008 qualifiers.
The Ernesiders, Ulster runners-up that year, were managed by current Monaghan boss, Malachy O’Rourke while Kieran McGeeney, now in charge of his native Armagh, was Kildare manager.
The last competitive clash between the pair was in Division 2 of the league in 2017 where the Lilywhites triumphed on a 4-14 to 0-14 scoreline.
Laois v Monaghan - A defining test for Sugrue's men
The Leinster final saw a competitive Laois for much of the opening half against the Dubs. In the end, the midlanders were at the end of an 18-point defeat, but they battled hard throughout and so have something to take going forward and a date with the Farney.
Monaghan, for their part, will arrive in Navan on the back of easy wins over Waterford and Leitrim and so haven't been tested since Fermanagh pulled the rug from under them in the Ulster semi.
John Sugrue's men should give them a thing or two to worry about, but the Ulster side have been operating at a higher level for a while now and should have enough to advance.
Laois have had a good 2018 so far and facing Monaghan will be a good indicator of where they actually stand.
Did you know
The sides y have met only once in the championship when Laois won a 2012 Round 2 qualifier by 2-12 to 0-12 at O'Moore Park.
Team news
Laois show two changes to the side from that which started against Dublin.
Brian Glynn and Ross Munnelly come into the O'Moore men's starting line-up at left half-forward and right corner-forward respectively.
Jack McCarron returns at full-forward for the Farney in what is the only change to the side that easily defeated Leitrim last weekend.
Laois: Graham Brody; Damien O'Connor, Mark Timmons, Gareth Dillon; Trevor Collins, Colm Begley, Darren Strong; John O'Loughlin, Kieran Lillis; Alan Farrell, Paul Kingston, Brian Glynn; Ross Munnelly, Donie Kingston, Evan O'Carroll
Monaghan: Rory Beggan; Kieran Duffy, Conor Boyle, Ryan Wylie; Dessie Ward, Colin Walshe, Karl O'Connell; Niall Kearns, Darren Hughes; Ryan McAnespie, Dermot Malone, Fintan Kelly; Conor McCarthy, Jack McCarron, Conor McManus
The former Kerry star is going for only one of the beaten provincial finalists to make the Super 8s.
WEATHER
Saturday: Warm and humid tomorrow with a mix of cloud and sunny spells. Apart from a little patchy drizzle in coastal districts of the west and north and perhaps an isolated afternoon shower or two, it will be another dry day. There is a risk of some sea mist or fog drifting ashore at times along east and southeast coasts, however. Top temperatures of 22 to 26 degrees Celsius in light southerly or variable breezes.
Sunday: Dry and very warm in most places on Sunday, with some hazy sunshine, but cloudier in the north and northwest, with a small chance of a few showers. Maximum temperatures of 23 to 28 degrees Celsius, highest in southeastern counties, cooler with temperatures of 19 or 20 degrees Celsius in coastal areas, especially on Atlantic coasts, in light mainly southwest breezes. For more go to met.ie.
