BEFORE I get into this week’s piece, I want to touch on the “hype”, if you want to call it that, which surrounds our game.

Our game has grown massively over the last number of years and there is an ever increasing hunger for information and, indeed, opinion that surrounds our game nowadays.

I’ve lost count of the amount of GAA podcasts that are out there at the moment, not to mentin the amount of written material that is available weekly.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think this is fantastic and it shows the appetite that is out there, but some things that are said and written are simply laughable at times.

I have absolutely no problem with lads speaking about the games or previewing them. Granted, it’s not the type of material I’d listen to as I’d rather an in-depth conversation type approach.

With so many previews and reviews happening weekly, some feel the need to say things or come up with theories that are totally off the wall.

Over the course of the last week I have either heard or listened to statements like: “Dublin are ruining Con” and “Jim McGuiness has a brand new revolutionary style of football” and “Derry have no strength in depth” only for all of those statements to be ripped asunder barely a week later.

Con turned in the performance of the year single-handedly dismantling Kerry. Donegal played a brand of football that the likes of Dublin, Kerry and Mayo have been playing for years.

I have watched these teams play high-pressing, high-tempo fast counter-attacking football since around 2016 so what’s new and revolutionary about that?

Derry have been perhaps the form team in the country and have introduced a number of newcomers.

My point is that if you are analysing a match or previewing a match you do not need to try and come up with some pie in the sky explanation. Just explain it just you see happening in front of your eyes.

Anyway, back to football matters. This weekend’s games should give us a better view of who might be fighting for honours and who will be battling for points until the very last day.

In Division Two, I think it’s fair to say that even at this point it should be a repeat of last weekend’s fixture in the league final between Donegal and Armagh.

On the other hand of the scale, the two teams who are in big bother cross paths this weekend when Kildare travel to play Cork.

The Rebels picked up two valuable points against last weekend but these two are a long way from being out of the woods.

In Division One, the game everyone will be talking about is the clash of Dublin and Derry.

Dublin showed what they are capable of last weekend and Mickey Harte will be keen to see how his lads fare against them this weekend.

If Derry are to win the All-Ireland, it’s clear that the approach is best. Win every single game regardless of the competition to cement your place at the top table. Fair play to them as it’s a different sort of approach than what we are used to.

The other big clash in Division One is the meeting of old foes Tyrone and Kerry.

Last weekend’s defeat would have hurt the Kerry players, so that’s not ideal as Tyrone make the long journey south.

Let’s get to prediction time – Dublin by two, Kerry by five and Kildare by three. That’s a nice little treble.