All-Ireland SFC Tyrone v Meath:In sporting terms Graham Geraghty was at the heart of one of the many joyous scenes of this championship summer when he was triumphantly embraced by the Meath supporters after the qualifier victory over Galway.

Given he'd also provided one of the biggest controversies, it marked a turning point not just for Geraghty but for the entire Meath team, and officially announced their re-emergence as All-Ireland contenders.

Next up are perennial contenders Tyrone in Saturday's quarter-final, and Geraghty is convinced it's a challenge Meath need in order to continue their progress towards ultimate glory. Incredibly, it's their first championship meeting since the All-Ireland semi-final of 1996, and as one of the few survivors of Meath's victory that day, Geraghty is eager to be out there again.

"I think we definitely needed a big team to play against to really bring out the best in ourselves. I was certainly hoping to get one of the big teams, whether that was Dublin, Kerry or Tyrone.

"It's something to really look forward to, and the other thing of course is that if you're going to beat these teams you're going to have to meet them at some stage.

"And if you look back over the last couple of years in the qualifiers, and some of the teams we played, okay we weren't going that well, but we hadn't been playing particularly good teams. But the further you go the better teams you are going to play, and that's always where this Meath team wanted to be."

Times have changed, naturally, since 1996, and while Meath claimed All-Ireland honours that year, Tyrone have evolved into the team in vogue. There are perhaps some signs of decline, but Geraghty reckons they are still formidable.

"Well I think they possibly are. I suppose the fact they're missing Stephen O'Neill, or at least he's not 100 per cent fit, is a huge loss. Although he will probably play at some stage. But they'll be out to prove that they are still the force they were a couple of years ago. They're still a very young team, and want to win more All-Irelands. And they probably feel this is a great chance for them to get through to another final. Looking to the next round, the winners would be avoiding the two teams, Dublin and Kerry. So I think this game would be seen by them as a very good chance to get to the final."

Meath themselves have been gaining steady momentum since testing Dublin to the limit in those earlier days of summer: "Yeah," agrees Geraghty, "We have more or less improved every game we've played. And fair play to the young lads who came in this year, because they've really put the work in.

"And I do think the bond of the team is back. That trip to Portugal (in May) made a big difference. Unfortunately I missed it myself, but it really brought the team on an awful lot, really bonded them together. It's probably something I regret not going on, but at the time I was just too busy."

Geraghty, at the time, was busy on the campaign trail as a Fine Gael candidate, but since then all his focus has been on football. That was severely shaken when a training bust-up resulted in his temporary omission from the panel, but he's put that behind him and is determined to make the best of what's left this summer.

"I'm really enjoying it, yeah. I've always enjoyed playing football. Hopefully I'll get the chance to play on Saturday. The team hasn't been picked yet, but I'd be hoping that I can get on the starting 15. But at the end of the day it's up to the selectors to decide. But hopefully I'll be on it. I'll be keeping the fingers crossed until Friday."

His second-half appearance in the Galway match - and his majestic point to help seal the win - was perhaps as stirring a moment in his whole career, especially given the warm embrace of the supporters.

"It was great, but you know the Meath fans have always been very good to me over the years. It was great to get that reception when I came on, and after the game as well. But hopefully we can repay them in some way for their loyalty over the last number of years.

"And we want to go a step further. I know at the start of the year probably some of our own supporters gave us no chance, but we were 50 to 1 outsiders to win the All-Ireland. Now I think we're down to 16 to 1. I know that's only betting odds, but I think at this stage any team that's going to play us will probably fear us a bit more now than earlier on in the year. Hopefully we can keep that going past this weekend."

Whether or not he starts on Saturday, Geraghty, at the age of 34, is still capable of showing the younger players what is required to beat Tyrone, and some role is therefore inevitable.

"Thankfully I'm still 100 per cent fit. Earlier on I was struggling a bit with stiffness after games and that. I've been lucky enough over the years that I didn't get any injuries. That's sticking to me now. I wouldn't be able to go for a five-mile run anymore. That would kill me. I'd sprint all day though."