The TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship steps up a gear this weekend when last year's Ulster champions Armagh make a bid to resuscitate their season when they face Waterford in the first qualifier round.
Down will face Meath in the other big knock-out decider, with both matches set to be televised live on TG4.
The winners of each tie will go into the draw for the second round of the qualifiers which are set to be hugely competitive with the four provincial runners up, Kerry, Tyrone, Galway and Laois already waiting in the pot.
Armagh's ambitions of retaining the Ulster crown were brought to a dramatic halt by Donegal in the first round of the Championship back in June. Waterford will be at further match practice disadvantage, having not played a competitive fixture since their Munster Championship outing against Kerry on 10 May.
Armagh Captain, Bronagh O'Donnell, isn't shying away from the importance of the match for the Orchard County.
'This match is do-or-die for us,' she said. 'Donegal are not a bad team, but we would have been expected to beat them and our performance was not what we expected from ourselves.
'We were complacent and probably a bit too relaxed going forward, but we've had a lot of time to work on our sharpness and against Waterford we'll be concentrating on putting in quick balls going forward.'
Meanwhile, Meath have suffered a significant set back going into their game against Down after full back Sinead Dooley tore her cruciate ligament in a club match.
'It's a huge blow to us,' said Captain Irene Munnelly. 'Sinead is one of our best backs and would be a key player. But it’s not the first time we've had to deal with injuries and Mena Sheridan will slot into her position.
'Mena's played full-back with her club Seneschalstown and played there in our challenge match against Longford last week so she's not new to the position. We'll go into the game cautious but hopeful we can progress to the next round.'
Meath and Down have met twice in challenge matches this year but with each team having notched a victory, the results give nothing away in advance of what is sure to be tight contest.
Down will be hoping that free taker Aileen Pyers and defender Eliza Downey will replicate the form they showed in their Ulster semi final defeat to Tyrone.
Off the pitch, the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association is aiming to establish ten new clubs across seven counties following on from strides made through the Gaelic4Girls initiative.
The success of Gaelic4Girls was celebrated at Croke Park last week when 360 girls who participated in this year’s programme descended on HQ to put their newly learnt skills into practice at the National Blitz Day.
The programme is targeted at disadvantaged areas, such as Moyross and Dublin’s Pearse Street, and aims to introduce 10-14 year old girls in those areas to the game.
