The famed strength in depth of modern Tyrone football will be tested to the limit this Sunday against Fermanagh in the Ulster senior championship as manager Mickey Harte sends out a team containing four debutants and minus nine front-line players.
At least the replacements come from decent stock. Tommy McGuigan makes his championship debut at centre forward in place of his sidelined brother Brian. Owen Mulligan was the natural replacement in the playmaker's role, but he too is injured.
Two other younger siblings, Justin McMahon - whose brother Joe is also injured - and Colm Cavanagh, whose brother Seáreturns to midfield after a foot problem, also get a first taste of the intensity of senior county football.
Niall Gormley is the fourth player making his Ulster bow, alongside the younger Cavanagh, in an inexperienced full forward line that does at least include Colm McCullagh.
The absentee list reads: 2005 player of the year Stephen O'Neill, McGuigan, McMahon, Enda McGinley, Mulligan, Martin Penrose, Raymond Mulgrew and Kelvin Hughes - not to be mistaken with midfielder Kevin Hughes, who missed most of last season for personal reasons.
Mulligan and McGinley will tog out at St Tiernach's Park and are expected to be introduced if scores are required late on.
With the possible exception of Kerry, no team in the country could survive the loss of quality attackers like O'Neill, McGuigan, McGinley and Mulligan.
And yet, plenty of quality remains. Captain Brian Dooher is another notable returnee after missing most of 2006 with a fractured kneecap.
Cormac McGinley gets the full-back slot, yet another injury concern, while goalkeeper John Devine is preferred to Pascal McConnell. Centre back Conor Gormley anchors a decent half-back line that also includes Davy Harte and Justin McMahon.
The chronic injury-list has cast a shadow on Tyrone's favouritism tag against a team that reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 2004.
"It's true that people are making us favourites, but people are still giving us the rating of 2003 and 2005, which I don't believe we have earned at this time," said Mickey Harte in reference to an inconsistent league campaign.
"Fermanagh are in a fortunate position with people suggesting that because they didn't get any league points they are a poor team. That's not true. Many of those games they could have won and they played very well in many of those games.
"They will always be a match for Tyrone because neighbours are like that. No matter how the form is, it's always a great leveller on the day."
Galway have suffered a blow ahead of Sunday's Connacht semi-final against Mayo with the versatile Diarmuid Blake being deemed unfit to start.
Blake, a centre back or midfielder, will be included among the subs, but Peter Ford and his selectors reckoned he was not fit enough for 70 minutes.
Niall Coleman and Joe Bergin will form the midfield partnership, with Niall Coyne manning the centre back spot. Goalkeeper Paul Doherty will make his championship debut in a side that has six survivors from the Galway team that won the 2001 All-Ireland.
Meanwhile, Mick O'Dwyer sends out one of the strongest Wicklow teams in recent times to play Louth on Sunday.
Brendan Ó hAnnaidh returns from a two-year hiatus in France to make up the half-back line alongside his brother Dara and the accomplished dual player Leighton Glynn.
James Stafford and Carlow transfer Thomas Walsh form a solid midfield, while Tommy Gill and Paul Earls are proven inside forwards at senior championship level.
This is the fourth county O'Dwyer has led to Croke Park, Kerry, Kildare and Laois being the others.
GAA Teams
TYRONE (SF v Fermanagh): J Devine; R McMenamin, C McGinley, D Carlin; D Harte, C Gormley, J McMahon; K Hughes, S Cavanagh; B Dooher, T McGuigan, R Mellon; N Gormley, C Cavanagh, C McCullagh.
FERMANAGH (SF v Tyrone): C Breen; S Goan, B Owens, N Bogue; S Lyons, S McDermott, T McElroy; M McGrath, M Murphy; M Little, T Brewster, E Maguire; C McElroy, C O'Reilly, C Bradley.
GALWAY (SF v Mayo): P Doherty; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, D Burke; D Meehan, N Coyne, M Comer; N Coleman, J Bergin; D Savage, J Fallon, N Joyce; M Meehan, P Joyce, C Bane.
MAYO (SF v Galway): K O'Malley; L O'Malley, BJ Padden, K Higgins; E Devenney, J Nallen, P Gardiner; D Heaney, P Harte; G Brady, T Mortimer, A Dillon; C Mortimer, K O'Neill, A Moran.
WICKLOW (SF v Louth): B Norman; C Hyland, D Power, A Byrne; L Glynn, D O hAnnaidh, B O hAnnaidh; J Stafford, T Walsh; T Hannon, P Dalton, JP Dalton; T Gill, D Jackman, P Earls.
DERRY (SH v Down): J McEldowney; S McCullagh, M Conway, R McCloskey; P O'Kane, L Hinphey, C Brunton; K Hinphey, R Convery; O McCloskey, C Quinn, R Kennedy; S McBride, D McSorley, S McGoldrick.
