Watch Louth v Tyrone live on RTÉ ONE this Saturday from 3.15pm, and Roscommon v Galway and Clare v Limerick live on RTÉ ONE this Sunday from 1.55pm-6.00pm. The Sunday Game is on RTÉ TWO from 10.15pm.
RTÉ Publishing's Patrick Kennedy looks ahead to this weekend's Guinness Senior Hurling Championship action.
All-Ireland SHC qualifiers Section A
Laois v Galway
Saturday 17 June, Portlaoise, 7.00pm
Galway have their first SHC outing of the year when they take on Laois in Portlaoise.
The hosts appear to have it all to do. They were relegated from Division 1 of the NHL and were easily disposed of by Offaly in the Leinster SHC.
The side is clearly over-reliant on the scoring prowess of midfielder James Young. Galway will not allow him the freedom to impose himself on proceedings.
The Tribesmen need to lay down a marker for their future opponents and a big win is likely if Ger Farragher and Damien Hayes get into the swing of things.
Farragher is going from strength-to-strength and has begun to show that his is as equally dangerous from open play as he is from dead ball situations.
Laois need to pull out all the stops if they are to quell his considerable threat.
Galway should run out winners by fifteen points or more and Laois are more likely to hope for success against Westmeath and the off-form Waterford if they are to shock everyone and make it to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Verdict: Galway
All-Ireland SHC qualifiers Section B
Dublin v Offaly
Saturday 17 June, Parnell Park, 7.00pm
Offaly need to bounce back from their disappointing last minute loss to Wexford last week and start the SHC qualifier series with a win over Dublin.
The Faithful side could so easily be facing a replay against the Models but for Stephen Doyle's last-minute winner.
They should have little difficulty in getting off to a successful start against Dublin.
Brian Whelehan returns to the side at left wing-forward in place of Brendan Murphy. The placing of Whelehan here will free Joe Bergin to return to his full-forward berth.
Bergin was well marked against Wexford but he should be able to break free of the close attention of the Dublin defence and strike his side to victory.
Dublin need to show a big improvement from their display against Westmeath.
There is obvious potential talent in the side and, while qualification is beyond them, they will be able to view the future optimistically if they avoid at trimming at the hands of their opponents in Section B.
Verdict: Offaly
All-Ireland SHC qualifiers Section A
Westmeath v Waterford
Sunday 18 June, Mullingar, 2.00pm
Westmeath enter new territory on Sunday as they face their first ever game in the SHC qualifier series against Waterford at Cusack Park.
The Lakesiders did well to hold Kilkenny to a fourteen-point victory in the Leinster SHC semi-final and may be confident of upsetting off-form Waterford.
However, the best thing they hope for is a scoreline similar to their last day out.
Paul Flynn is in need of retribution after his dismal free-taking performance against Tipperary in the Munster SHC semi-final and there is no player better at exposing the weaknesses of inexperienced opposition.
Add to that the return to fitness of John Mullane and the outlook is not good for Seamus Qualter's Westmeath side.
Westmeath will learn a lot from this encounter and Waterford will begin their trek to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals, but they will have a clearer position of their own strength when the face Galway.
Verdict: Waterford.
All-Ireland SHC qualifiers Section B
Clare v Limerick
Sunday 18 June, Ennis, 4.00pm
The mid-west derby will go a long way to telling how Limerick and Clare have been affected by their early exits from the Munster SHC.
Limerick were strong favourites to defeat Tipperary but crumbled when push came to shove. Clare shot out of the blocks to an early lead before allowing Cork to cruise past them long before the final whistle blew.
Limerick have dropped Mark Keane for the experienced Barry Foley. The main reason they were defeated the last day out was the inability to cope with Eoin Kelly.
As the Banner (or any other team for that matter) have no forward capable of producing a Kelly-like display, Limerick will be able to concentrate on playing to their own strengths and getting quality ball to their forwards.
Clare will be hoping to avenge their NHL semi-final defeat to the Shannonsiders. They have to ability to send Joe McKenna's side home licking their wounds but too often they fail to get the most out of the individual flair of their forwards.
Limerick will win this one by two or three points.
Verdict: Limerick
