Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Myriad opportunities open as teams explore the three-up shape

Forwards are redeveloping their lateral movement rather than making straight runs.

WRECKING BALL: When Damien Comer was fed decent ball against Dublin, he was unstoppable. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Every year round seven of the National Football League captures the country's imagination for a weekend. There is plenty at stake and I’m sure you have read the head scratching permutations elsewhere at this stage, with a group of teams capable of reaching league finals should results go their way, or being relegated should events conspire against them.

Wonderfully, the only certainty is the uncertainty of it all. What sport should be and what it is all about. While All-Ireland final day is a unique and spiritual occasion that enthrals the nation, only two counties are all-in, to decide who is on the right side of the thin line that divides heaven from hell. This weekend is different, as 23 of the 32 teams still have something to play for, with some of the relevant talking points, permutations aside, below.