Down v Donegal
Saturday, January 30
Allianz Football League Division I**
Down v Donegal, Páirc Esler, 7pm - Live on Setanta
Even though a considerable geographical distance separates Down from Donegal, Saturday night's opener in Newry is a real Ulster derby between two counties who have already met competitively this season. That said, little store should be placed on Donegal's 1-11 to 0-11 win over Down back on January 3 in the McKenna Cup, given it was the first game back after a long off-season.
This will be Down's first season back in the top tier since winning promotion under Jim McCorry last season. However, McCorry is no longer in charge - he paid the price for Down's early Ulster Championship exit and stunning defeat to Division IV side Wexford in the qualifiers. He has been replaced by Eamon Burns, who won All-Ireland titles with Down as a player in 1991 and 1994.
Although Down's promotion in 2015 suggests a strong panel, this will be a challenging campaign for Burns. One look at the quality of opposition in Division I suggests that Down will have a real battle to survive on their hands, and they must do so without Conor Laverty, their talismanic captain who has so far been unable to commit for 2016.
On the plus side, veteran Mark Poland has returned for another year while Benny Coulter, who retired at the end of 2014, has surprisingly returned for the 2016 season. Speaking this week ahead of the Donegal game, Poland revealed he was close to stepping away after the Wexford defeat. “There was a lot of ill-feeling about Down football and it was annoying me," he said. "I don’t know whether it’s thickness or wanting to prove people wrong, but if fit I'm willing to be involved as long as Down want me.”
Last season, Donegal reached the Division I semi-finals and manager Rory Gallagher would be delighted if his side could achieve a repeat performance in 2016. Like Down, Donegal also welcome came a man who retired in 2014 with All-Ireland midfielder Rory Kavanagh back in the set-up having penned his memoir, 'Winning', during his spell away from the county set-up.
Donegal have had no retirements in the off-season, and while there are some doubts over goalkeeper Paul Durcan's availability - he is now working in the Middle East - it has not been confirmed that he will be unavailable for Donegal in 2016. As well as that, Gallagher has continued the introduction of a number of talented members of recent Donegal minor teams, with Stephen McBrearty - brother of Patrick - making the biggest impact to date.
Another young player of whom plenty will be expected in 2016 is Eoin McHugh, cousin of Mark and Ryan. The talented Kilcar clubman has been on the senior panel for over a year now, and showed signs of considerable progress in the recent McKenna Cup campaign.
