Eight counties get to enjoy Croke Park in a stress-free environment this weekend as they battle for Allianz National Football League honours. For all bar Cork and Dublin, these finals are little more than a bonus day in headquarters, with the hard work of promotion already won.

Longford and Offaly kick off proceedings on Saturday evening at 5.15pm and this is a rare chance for both to experience the wide open spaces of the field of dreams, but they will probably do so with little under a few thousand in attendance. No matter, it won’t stop them from relishing the chance to show their stuff on live television.

They will be followed by the players of Armagh and Fermanagh at 7.15pm and for these two it will be a reminder somewhat of past glories – not too distant either. Here are two counties who cruised through Division 3 to this final and already their eyes will be on the Ulster championship. Not much to see here either, I suspect.

By Sunday it might get interesting. The Division 2 final is between Down and Roscommon and there are definitely ambitions here towards returning to the hallowed turf later in the year. Both have earned their places back in the top division for next season and their championships are opening in front of them.

Roscommon are Connacht’s coming force. With question marks over Mayo’s ability to stay at the top table, it is the Rossies who are poised to pick up the province’s mantle. Whether it is this summer or next, the Rossies are going to contend in Tuam, Castlebar, the Hyde and, yes, Croke Park. Their playing personnel is young and hunger is a given. They have won back-to-back promotions from Division 3 and Division 2 and have collected three out of the last four Connacht U-21 championships. In John Evans, they have a footballing maverick, all the way from Kerry and he has retained the cuteness that is bred into footballing brains down there.

Should the Rossies emerge to an All-Ireland senior final in the next year or two, or even win the holy grail, that would kill all talk about football becoming a game of managerial chess.

Down, under new manager Jim McCarry, are making strides too and fairly marched into Division 1 with a host of big-scoring totals. This doesn’t tally with the current tag attached to Ulster football teams but it is worth noting that the Mourne men scored 122 points, the second highest total of all 32 counties in the league.

(Here’s a table quiz question few would get. Which county actually scored the most in the recent group stages of the Allianz National Football League? The answer is Sligo, with 123 points.)

So, Down and Roscommon will be a game worth watching.

What do we make of the league final, the top billing of Dublin and Cork? And what will we make of the result?

For starters, there should be no surprise about these two finalists as between them they have won the last five league titles. On two occasions (Cork in 2010 and Dublin in 2013), they have gone to complete the double and win the All-Ireland title. Of course, in those years the league wins are cited as hugely important but when the All-Ireland isn’t claimed, supporters quickly question the need to be contending for league honours.

The Dubs can’t help themselves. There can be no pacing in the capital. Games in Croke Park have to be won and they usually are. Then, before you know it, you are in a league semi-final and no one likes to lose semi-finals. The Dubs will not want to lose more than Cork will want to win, if that logic makes sense, so it suggests a win for the perennial Leinster champions.

Jim Gavin has used the league well, blooding a few players to increase his ever-impressive squad depth. The likes of Cian O’Sullivan, Brian Fenton and tenacious defender John Small (don’t let the name fool you) have been given their chance and a couple of regular subs like Dean Rock have been given more game time. Most of Gaelic football is in awe of what Gavin has at his disposal – Michael Darragh MacAuley and Paddy Andrews were just two subs used in the semi-final against Monaghan; there is also Alan Brogan awaiting the championship.

Cork manager Brian Cuthbert, like Jim Gavin, can treat Sunday as his side’s last big test before July when the Rebels meet Kerry in the Munster final. That’s a luxury borne out of Cork’s massive 4-11 haul against Donegal in the league semi-final. We’ll never know if the Ulster champions cared too much about that game – I’d suspect they didn’t care at all – but the Rebels did score four goals. Chief torturer for Cork was Colm O’Neill – a player who is showing his injury-free value. He is a serious forward and one that Cuthbert can ride all the way back to Croke Park in August. Scorer of two of the goals against Donegal, he also set up a third.

The Dubs have moved Johnny Cooper back into the full-back line and I wouldn’t mind watching himself and O’Neill bump shoulders for 70 minutes on Sunday. These are two footballers who play from the front, on the ball and both are classy operators. A healthy mix of both on every football team and the debates about the state of the game would disappear.

I think, however, this weekend will quell some of the recent torpor engulfing the big-ball game. All eight sides in Croke Park will come to play and enjoy their surroundings. Winning and losing will not be terminal; performances will count for more.

The last thing any county will want is an injury just a few weeks before the real stuff starts, so let’s hope we don’t see any of those. At a push Longford, Armagh, Down and Dublin would be the likely winners.

Enjoy it, lads – this will be the last time you’ll be in Croke Park in 2015 with nothing more on the line than pride (and perhaps your place for the championship). We might enjoy it too, because those are not a bad set of ingredients. CL