Last year Trillick won a ninth Tyrone SFC title with a team shorn of some of its brightest stars.
Missing were Mattie Donnelly and Simon Garrity, two key players whose absence threatened to cause damage beyond repair.
But the spirit of the Reds turned adversity to triumph in spectacular fashion.
Injury healed and travel bug salved, the pair are back in the mix and ready to add their talents to a formidable force that begins the defence of the title next week.
First round opponents Eglish have just been relegated from senior football, but Trillick captain Richie Donnelly insisted that no team can be taken lightly in the unpredictable Red Hand dogfight.
“We believe in the squad we have and the quality we have, but it guarantees absolutely nothing,” he said.
“No-one can afford to sit back and think, X, Y, Z is back playing. We all have to bring the best of ourselves again and even better from last year, and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“We have got everyone back now on grass and pulling the group together nicely, so we’re just looking forward to the first round.”
Donnelly, who enjoyed his best season in the Trillick shirt in 2023, missed several games in the latter stages of the league due to injury, but is fit again and ready for the opener on Saturday week.
“I’m all good, all guns blazing again, I’m firing well, thank God. I’ve been back training a number of weeks and I’m really looking forward to a big championship.”
Eglish go into the game against the backdrop of a deeply disappointing league campaign which saw them finish bottom of the Division One table, but they’ll feel they can find a big performance at Galbally.
“History tells us that the championship is a different animal in Tyrone, and any given team, can beat the other,” said Donnelly.
“Everyone comes into that context, so we’re very much focused on a tough challenge.”
Trillick survived a string of scares along a rocky and dramatic route to O’Neill Cup glory last season.
In the first round they were taken to extra-time and penalties by Loughmacrory, before squeezing past quarter-final opponents Edendork by a single point, and the decider against Errigal Ciaran also went to extra-time.
“You face different challenges every round, whether it’s penalties, extra-time, man up, man down, there’s just so many different things that are thrown at you throughout a Tyrone championship.
With the jeopardy of the straight knock-out format ingrained in the Tyrone approach, there’s no room for slip-ups, but following a hectic league campaign which featured two games per week in the latter stages, the championship will allow more time for recovery.
“I like the knock-out and the pressure side of it. The pressure and the stakes are high, but that’s why we all love it the way it is,” said Donnelly.
“It’s very unforgiving, and if you’re not focused and ready for any given day, then you’ll be sitting at home.
“Thankfully, if you do progress through the rounds, you do have a two-week window, and that gives you time, because it’s knock-out football, it’s high pressure, everything is on the line, everyone puts their body on the line, mentally and physically.
“For players to be able to produce that every week would be unrealistic, so I think it’s important that we do get those breaks between the games to come down and then build back up towards another performance, if you do progress.”