THE ACTION KICKS off tonight with a double-header in Croke Park.

Kildare face Donegal at 5pm while Cork meet Dublin at 7pm.

In Newry tonight Down clash with Tyrone and in Castlebar on Sunday afternoon it is Mayo and Kerry who square off.

Here’s some things to watch out for in this season’s Division 1 campaign.

Five Games To Watch

• Kildare v Donegal – Tonight’s clash in Croke Park offers the first glimpse of many of Donegal’s All-Ireland winning heroes for the first time in 2013. They face a Kildare team fresh from O’Byrne Cup success and after showing signs of evolution on and off the pitch. And the game evokes memories of the counties titanic battle in Croke Park in the 2011 All-Ireland quarter-final.
• Kerry v Dublin - Two counties that have seen two of their leading GAA lights – Páidí and Heffo – sadly pass away recently, will square off on February 10th. It’s interesting to note that Dublin came to Kerry and thieved a character-building win under Pat Gilroy in February 2010. Can Jim Gavin do the same? His opposite number Eamonn Fitzmaurice will enter this game after playing in an All-Ireland club final with Finuge the previous night.
• Dublin v Mayo - It was Dublin’s listless display against Mayo in the league last year that exposed some concerns in their teams and it was against Mayo that their Sam Maguire dream ended in 2012. Dublin will have scores to settle then against a Mayo team who will be on the road for the first time for this game on March 2nd after two opening home league games.
• Tyrone v Donegal – This March 3rd tie will serve as an interesting warm-up to the counties summer battle in the Ulster championship. Can Tyrone bridge the gap between themselves and Donegal? Featuring in Division 1 football this year is a good start.
• Kerry v Cork – On March 24th this round six game will feature two sides who have tended to be regular figures in the league knockout stages. Both teams have shaken up their personnel and by this juncture, we should have a clear view of what shape they are taking before the summer.

Five Players To Monitor

• Ciaran Kilkenny – His return from the AFL was a welcome boost for Dublin in January. He was to the fore for Castleknock last Sunday and while his club endeavors, along with Dublin U21 involvement, will curtail his senior game time during the league, there will come a time when Jim Gavin can hurl him into action.
• Ronan O’Neill – Another attacker who is back in harness but this time it is after climbing off the treatment table. The Omagh forward tore his cruciate ligament last year but is back on the bench for Tyrone tonight and is a huge talent that Mickey Harte will be looking to unleash in 2013.
• Damien Cahalane – After spending last season with the hurlers, Cahalane is a significant addition for Conor Counihan’s football squad. Shone for Castlehaven on the club stage last winter and brings the right amount of physique and football that could energize Cork’s rearguard.
• Daniel Flynn – A precocious talent who starred on the St Mary’s (Edenderry) team who won the Hogan Cup last April. Flynn has been given game time in the O’Byrne Cup and is a highly-rated prospect.
• Paul Geaney – Geaney flirted with the inter-county senior game two years ago but now looks poised to impact. Has ticked all the boxes with the Kerry U21′s, UCC Sigerson teams and the Dingle side that reached last season’s county final. The attacker starts at corner-forward against Mayo tomorrow.

Five Things To Note

• Conor Counihan’s silverware record in the league is exemplary. In his past four years he has claimed trophies in April in Croke Park – three Division 1 and one Division 2. And his only unsuccessful season was in 2008 when he only took over the Cork managerial reins in late February that year.
• Six of the managers in this division – Counihan, McGeeney, Fitzmaurice, Gavin, McCartan and McGuinness – all won All-Ireland titles as players. And of the two exceptions – Harte and Horan – the Tyrone boss has won three titles as manager.
• Has there been a more competitive Division 1? The last five All-Ireland champions are all competing in the division along with the 2012 finalists Mayo and the 2010 finalists Down. Kildare, All-Ireland quarter-finalists for the past five years, are the only side that have not featured in a September decider since 2008.
• Ciaran Kilkenny may have returned from Australia but how much of a boost would Pearse Hanley (Mayo), Tommy Walsh (Kerry) and Caolan Mooney (Down) be to their counties if they were available to their counties?
• Dublin are 5/2 favorites to win this year’s Division 1 title with Cork 11/4, Kerry 10/3, Donegal 7/1, Mayo 9/1, Tyrone 10/1, Kildare 12/1 and Down 25/1.

Sherwood and O’Donoghue to make league debuts for Kerry

Allianz Football League – The team sheets are in