Tailteann Cup heavyweights look to lay down marker

The meeting of Meath and Down in the Tailteann Cup is a reminder of how both counties have slipped down the pecking order in recent years, but are among the leading contenders to win the secondary football competition.

The 1991 All-Ireland finalists have fallen significantly from those heady heights, with the Mournemen making little impression in Ulster and operating in Division 3, while the Royals have lost their last four Leinster finals to Dublin by an average of 15 points.

The counties are now under new stewardship, with Conor Laverty moving into management with Down and Colm O'Rourke swapping the studio for the dugout to revive the Royals, with contrasting seasons to date.

Down narrowly missed out on promotion to Division 2 and accounting for Donegal before falling short against Armagh, while Meath’s middling league form was followed by defeat to Offaly in Leinster.

The sides meet in Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon assured of progress to the knockout stages and speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Enda McGinley says it should be a "fascinating" contest.

"Colm O’Rourke has been very, very clear and forthright, surprisingly so, about the extent of a rebuild project he feels is going on," he said.

"They are trying to mould a new team. Tactically, they seem to be slightly more defensive," he said, before pointing out that Waterford had three first-half goal chances in their Tailteann Cup clash last time out.

"The mindset and training it needs, and learning from mistakes you make, takes time until you are a solid defensive unit."

The three-time All-Ireland winner says he has been particularly impressed by the robust defensive approach, combined with an intense work ethic he has brought with him from Kilcoo.

"He has been Mr