In many ways the meeting this afternoon of Dublin and Armagh is about the legacy of last year. The very narrow defeat for Dublin, and how it all hinged on that missed free by Ray Cosgrove, is still fresh in the minds of both teams.

Armagh, though, proved themselves worthy winners that day, and again by beating Kerry in the All-Ireland final. But I don't think last year will have any bearing on this afternoon. The only relevant factor is how the teams have performed over the past few weeks.

Dublin are still a little rattled from the defeat by Laois, and haven't had much time to dwell on the win over Derry. That contrasts with Armagh, who have had a stress-free run into this game. But having experienced games on almost a weekly basis I think Dublin's form will improve.

They are a very fit team and won't have any problems recovering from last week, and mentally I think all the team are ready to play their best football again. While Derry wasn't the hardest game for them, it was a good test of character. And I was particularly impressed at how the back line of Paddy Christie, Paul Griffin and Colin Moran, and of course Shane Ryan who had a great stabilising effect on the team.

Still they needed the cool head of Dessie Farrell in the forward line, but that doesn't mean he'll have the same influence here, and he might have problems getting on the ball as often.

Again we won't know the team until just before the start, which doesn't really make much of a difference. Darren Homan is obviously doubtful, but I expect they will keep Jason Sherlock in reserve again. He is playing very intelligent football, but he is still better used as an impact player.

I also expect Ciarán Whelan to step up a gear from his last two games, because he has been below his best. I know from working with him on the International Rules team that he can have problems getting into the best positions to get on the ball. He is devastatingly explosive when he does get it, but takes some time to recover.

It could be Whelan is also having a mini crisis of confidence, something similar to Cosgrove, but I think they will keep the belief in their ability, and the management will also be working hard to keep up that confidence.

There are other players, too, like Alan Brogan, who need to show more this afternoon, and I expect he will.

There are also some questions over the Armagh defence. Enda McNulty has been called in and so has Francie Bellow, who to me always looks short of pace. But they seem to get away with it.

The more important part of the Armagh team is their half-back line, which kept them together on so many occasions last summer, and that remains intact for this afternoon. It's still the launching pad of their victories, and is often helped out by the roving forward, who in this case appears to be Tony McEntee. That makes for heavy traffic at midfield, which might also make it difficult on Whelan.

Armagh are also one of the best tackling teams in the game. And they won't give away too many frees.

Tactically Armagh are also still very astute. Diarmaid Marsden and Steven McDonnell are two devastating inside forwards and can read the game so well. And they do like to play in the open spaces of Croke Park.

But the biggest factor of all for them last year was their desire to win, and how they played like a team that were determined to get over the line in every match. So is that desire there this year? That's the big question.

The age profile of Armagh has moved on, and I certainly don't think we've seen that same kind of desire so far this year. They have definitely lost some of the sparkle, but ultimately the jury is still out on whether they can find that sort of hunger again. And it won't take long in this game to find out if they can.

For me, though, Dublin have more reason to do it this time. The defeat by Laois has acted as a massive spur, and they are out now to prove to themselves as much as anyone else that they are a better team than the one that lost that day. I think they have regained their composure, especially in the attack, and can come out on top this time.

The Connacht football final tomorrow appears a little more straightforward in that Galway are strong favourites to win. But I know Mayo won't roll over easy and are actually playing as quite a formidable team at the moment. They have great pace and carry the ball at real speed through the field, and unlike previous years they have some great finishers like Conor Mortimer, and his brother Trevor outside him.

Mayo also have some great leadership figures in David Heaney at full back, and James Nallen at centre back. And James Gill can cover a lot of ground at midfield. Overall though, Galway have the ability to match that pace, and still have a little bit extra. In fact goalkeeper Peter Burke is a huge loss to Mayo because Galway have the ability to poach goals when they need them most.

Galway have also uncovered a great find in Michael Meehan. I'm still not sure about Michael Donnellan, because that is more of a defensive position. So I'm looking forward to watching how he operates there, because the Galway forwards are so good at the moment that he won't need those bursting runs so often.

I think Mayo will get the better start, perhaps move a few points clear, but I still think Galway will eventually settle into a rhythm and with their experienced players like Kevin Walsh, Ja Fallon and Padraig Joyce they will come out on top.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan