We've got five good teams still standing (Kerry, Tyrone, Donegal, Derry and Dublin) and another handful who are right behind them. And I'm especially interested to see what Laois, Monaghan and Sligo do next?

This was a year when 'anyone' could have won the AllIreland title, and that door is still wide open. This run-in should be the most exciting and the most surprising we've seen in more than a decade.

Take Laois, for instance.

Everyone has now said good luck, and good-riddance to them! They were so fragile for long spells last Sunday, and when their midfield disappeared underground the rest of the team had to go to Plan X . . . and that was just after half-time. But Laois still have a very good manager and they still possess oodles of fantastic natural talent and the best attacking half-back line in the country. This Laois team, believe me, still has more talent in every line than Dublin.

But now Laois is faced with the choice of hiding themselves away as quickly as possible, or showing up in their next game with some pride and real heart. Both of these ingredients have been absent from this present-day Laois team, but if they can find them, if by chance these qualities can be discovered after a second great pounding in Croker in front of 80,000 people, then Laois would have as much right as anyone else to challenge for Sam in the next two months. If, if, if . . . and if not, forget about it, Derry will have a handy victory by a handful of points in the third round of the qualifiers.

Donegal look perfectly positioned amongst the last of the qualifiers. Monaghan, mentally more than anything else, will struggle against a hard, physical Donegal performance, and McEneaney (even though I continue to applaud his team after last Sunday's performance) is likely to find his team suffering post Ulster final blues. If Donegal keep their heads down, they'll go through. Brian McIver needs to finish off the season in a positive and aggressive manner.

The retirement of Joe Kernan, after six fantastic years, will hurt Armagh. If Joe had stayed, and had taken on board Sean Boylan's past view of life as Meath teams came and went for 20 years, Armagh might never have been less than number two in Ulster.

Now Armagh are going to have to find themselves again. Not easily done. Armagh's loss is going to be the country's loss too, of course . . . Joe was one of the country's few, fearless, always entertaining, 24/7, football managers.

Donegal can now see themselves going head-to-head with Tyrone for a few years. And that is where Donegal need to see themselves in the future, as one half of the Big Two. It will help to contest an All Ireland semi-final, at least, and for Donegal to walk away from its 'good year' without a typical Donegal wash-out display.