The last of the bumper weekends is upon us. Four top-class games – all of them bound for Croker; poor old (yet brand new) Páirc Uí Chaoimh isn’t getting a look-in.

Sky host the jamboree on Saturday for those who can’t make it in person. Tyrone and the fast-arriving, on-the-rail Armagh start off proceedings at 4pm before the Dubs meet Monaghan. The scribes will be writing off the qualifier pair and in Monaghan’s case they are right, but Mickey Harte will be very wary of McGeeney’s men. Such teams, in bonus territory, with little to lose, are dangerous opponents.

Armagh’s attitude will decide how long this one stays competitive. If they can arrive into this match still working at the tempo that beat Kildare, then they can stay close to the Ulster champions. A week between games can be a blessing when momentum is flowing but if Tyrone turn off that tap early, then Armagh could empty very quickly.

All eyes will be on Jamie Clarke to see if he can repeat the magnificence of his last performance, but this weekend he will have less space in which to work his magic. Simplistic as it sounds, if Tyrone manage to circle him with bodies, then the suppliers will have to look elsewhere and that could be a problem.

This could see Gavin McPartland and Andrew Murnin as the alternative inside routes for scores and it is here that the Orchard might run out of apples. Raiders from deep like Brendan Donaghy and Aiden Forker have had success carrying the ball into danger areas in previous encounters, but they won’t have met rush-hour traffic like Tyrone’s defensive gridlock.

What separates Tyrone from the rest of the defence-first sides is their ability to transition up the field when they regain possession. They are averaging 23 points a game this summer – racking up that much will beat everyone bar perhaps Dublin and Kerry. Tyrone have beaten their three opponents thus far by 11, nine and eight points.

Along with proven performers like Sean and Colm Cavanagh, Peter Harte, Tiernan McCann and Mattie Donnelly, who are enjoying a prolific summer, Mickey Harte has the all-important strength in depth on the bench.

Declan McClure and Ronan O’Neill are just two impact subs and in the middle of an intensive championship match they can be the difference. Tyrone to win, the margin depending on Armagh’s reserves.

Dublin v Monaghan

Monaghan scored 1-24 last Saturday night and they’ll need something similar against a Dublin team just getting serious as August breaks. It should be noted that both sides are Division One so the gulf between them should not be of Leinster championship proportions. This is, however, Monaghan’s fourth game in a month and even with an on-fire Conor McManus in their midst, is a very tall order.

We’d all love to see the Dubs tested, but it won’t be this weekend. Hopefully Monaghan will make them look mortal but even a little off colour they’ll surely have too much to call on.

Roscommon v mayo

Monday is an unusual day for a football match but that’s where we will find the latest instalment of Mayo’s journey to Sam (or further heartbreak). The Rossies, primed from their performance in the drawn match, go back to HQ with confidence and more than a puncher’s chance.

Eventually the Mayo sideline will wake up the fact that substituting Andy Moran in the latter stages of games robs them of a natural forward who can kick points. They can’t keep getting out of jail. They either win comfortably, going away in this replay, or they get sucked into another nail-biter. If Roscommon bring the belief last Sunday surely gave them, they could well record a historic victory.

Galway v Tipperary

The hurlers have reached the last four and the first of the mouth-watering semi-finals is Sunday’s headliner. Galway are everyone’s favourite to win it out but probably come into this a little undercooked. They are five weeks on from the Leinster final, they were relatively untested in the province and they are meeting a chastened Tipp.

These two know each very well at this stage and are meeting in championship for the fourth year in a row – tellingly, the Tribesmen have only won one of those, by a point two years ago. Twelve months ago they were on the wrong side of a classic, again by a point, so we are expecting a tight affair.

Galway have been imperious since the knockout stages of the league, inflicting a heavy lesson on the Tipp backs in the league final – one the Premier defenders don’t appear to have recovered fully from yet. Plenty see this as the reason why Galway will advance on Sunday.

Me? Not so much.

Perhaps it is the traditionalist in me but I think the game will be decided at the other end and Tipp’s quality here is more proven. The Tipp forward line is simply devastating when fed good ball, and in a shootout – as this will likely be – there is only one winner: the All-Ireland champions.

The Cooneys, Conor Whelan, Jason Flynn, Cathal Mannion and of course Joe Canning have all been excellent this summer but there are recent injury question marks over Canning and Mannion.

Galway will need to generate more than 25 points to get over the line and that just might be beyond them because they are dealing with wounded animals in the Tipp rearguard. Pride demands they shore up the gaps visible in previous outings.

At the other end, the Galway backs will have their hands full. In the league final, Adrian Tuohy, Daithí Burke, Aidan Harte and Gearóid McInerney were brilliant and shut down the Tipp attack from the throw-in, dominating throughout. Three months on and Callinan, Noel and John McGrath, and Bubbles are bordering on rejuvenated. Bonnar Maher did not start that day and he offers a different threat from centre forward. He also makes his inside line tick.

This will be a thriller as these two never let us down in the entertainment stakes. By match end, I have a hunch we’ll have new favourites for Liam McCarthy. CL