The Allianz National Football League kick off with a Croke Park double-header tonight. Cork will be aiming for a fourth league title in succession but Dublin, Kerry, Mayo will be among the teams that are primed to stop them.
Ger Gilroy will also be joined in studio by Ryan McMenamin, Billy Joe Padden and Conor Deegan to preview the 2013 campaign in a special panel from 4pm.
Meath
The task is pure and simple for Meath: get out of Division 3 as promptly as possible and improve on a disappointing 2012 league campaign. That task has been handed to Mick O’Dowd and if all goes to plan, the Royals should be one of the clear favourites for promotion despite collapsing in the last five matches of last season’s Division 2.
But their Championship performance was vastly superior to their league form as they brushed aside Carlow and Kildare, before losing out to Dublin by three points in the Leinster final.
The signs from the pre-season O’Byrne Cup were also encouraging as the Royals went undefeated despite failing to reach the semi-finals while a number of impressive young players like Paddy Gilsenan and Conor Gillespie got valuable game-time.
Monaghan
Meath’s first league opponents, Monaghan, also find themselves in the third tier after a disappointing league campaign in 2012 which saw them finish bottom of Division 2.
Interestingly, their only wins of that campaign came in Clones.
Their Championship form was slightly better than their league form as they were one point away from beating Down to a place in the Ulster final. But the summer ended early for The Farney County after a 2-12 to 0-12 defeat to Laois in Round 2 of the qualifiers.
The signs have been good in pre-season as Monaghan convincingly breezed into the final of the Dr McKenna Cup. But they suffered a reality check against Tyrone in a 10 point defeat last week.
That will have dented confidence but Monaghan should still be in the race for promotion.
Roscommon
That’s a race that Roscommon will be hoping to get involved in. The Rossies finished fourth in Division 3 last year but 2012 was a year to forget for the county as they were annihilated by Galway in the Connacht quarter-finals. Hopes were raised briefly after a remarkable second-half saw off Armagh in the first round of the qualifiers at Hyde Park until they lost to Tyrone in round 2.
But there is young talent like Donie Smith and Cathal Shine establishing themselves in the seniors which has led to renewed optimism.
Sligo
Neighbours Sligo had a decent 2012 Allianz League campaign pipping Roscommon to third place on point difference and they also did well in Connacht with Adrian Marren at the fore as they stunned Galway in the semis, going on to lose the decider to Mayo by two points.
But the Yeat’s County will be disappointed to walk away from last weekend’s FBD League final against Leitrim with a defeat after a poor performance. However they will have been encouraged by wins prior to that, against Galway, NUI Galway and IT Sligo. 
Antrim
Antrim’s recent league showings have been solid, reaching Division 2 in 2011, while they finished comfortably mid-table in Division 3 last season. They are now under the stewardship of Frank Dawson as they try to build on a good 2012 which saw them claim the scalp of Galway in the qualifiers before a narrow defeat to Tipperary at Semple Stadium in the next round. Promotion from this division could be a tall order but they will be confident of not slipping through the trap door to Division 4 especially with the returns of Paddy Cunningham, Anto Healy and Sean McVeigh.
Cavan
Ulster rivals Cavan may find it harder to avoid getting wedged in the trap door after just about securing survival by the skin of their teeth last year. The Championship wasn’t much better for Terry Hyland’s team as they lost to Donegal in the opening exchanges of the 2012 Ulster Championship before exiting from the qualifiers following a 17 point defeat to Kildare.
Division 3 could be a struggle for Cavan as it has a stronger look to it this year, but they will be banking on some of their talented U21s to start establishing themselves in the senior setup.
One notable result that Cavan did obtain last year was against Fermanagh in the Championship qualifiers. The Breffni County swatted aside their neighbours by a 3-13 to 0-15 score in Enniskillen.
Fermanagh
The Championship was a disappointment for Fermanagh as they fell at the first hurdle in Ulster and the qualifiers, a stark contrast to their league form.
The Ernesiders made huge progress to emerge from Division 4, winning seven games in an unbeaten campaign and Tyrone legend Peter Canavan remains at the helm as Fermanagh showed encouraging signs in the 2013 McKenna Cup, reaching the semis. Securing their Division 3 status for another season will be the main aim.
Wicklow
They are joined in the third tier by Wicklow who beat them in the Division 4 League final last term. It was the one shining light for the Garden County as they lost to Meath in Leinster and then to Leitrim in Round 2 of the All Ireland qualifiers. Like Fermanagh survival will be the main aim in a division made more competitive with the involvement of Meath and Monaghan.
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