Sub plots aplenty as new season begins

As the end of January approaches, minds will now focus on the new inter-county season which begins in earnest this weekend with the opening rounds in both the Allianz Football and Hurling leagues.

While the leagues have taken on a new level of importance in modern times - and, indeed, provide much more competitive fare in football in particular when compared to much of the championship action - this year is likely to see a slight change in the importance teams place on their standing in the early season competition.

There’s a simple reason for that in football: the new rules. They will be all anyone will be talking about after next weekend’s matches, as players, management teams and supporters try and wrap their heads around the most significant changes to the game in generations.

One thing that will be required for all football stakeholders in the coming weeks is patience.

Having attended the Kildare-Galway challenge game earlier this month in Newbridge, the sense of exasperation, and confusion, among supporters after some decisions was striking. This is understandable, as everyone tries to get to grips with the new reality, but it will also mean that referees have to be given the space and time to do so as well.

There will be mistakes, from all sides, so it’s going to be a case of trying to be as good as can be with what the powers that be have decided.

With that in mind, you can be sure that while all counties will want to ensure they perform reasonably well this spring and avoid relegation, the edge will be taken off things as everyone adjusts to the modern incarnation of Gaelic football. Everything will be a little more forgiving.

As always, the most interesting aspect of the league is getting a look at the teams under new management set ups, so that to me sets one Division One match this weekend above the rest.

Tyrone play Derry in Omagh on Saturday night, with both sides having a new manager on the sideline.

Tyrone are the team, in my estimation, with the most room for improvement after a poor couple of years following their All-Ireland triumph in 2021. New manager Malachy O’Rourke is bound to freshen things up and arrives into the job with a superb CV, his exploits on the club scene with Glen most notable in recent times.

He will square up against many of his former players this weekend, as Derry begin life under Paddy Tally. They have the raw materials to stake a claim as one of the country’s leading teams, but have they missed the boat when it comes to winning the overall prize? This year will be pivotal for them, as Tally tries to march them up the mountain once more.

The next venue to keep an eye on, on Sunday afternoon, is Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

This is a crucial year - perhaps even a make-or-break one - for Jack O’Connor. Kerry have failed to deliver since their All-Ireland win in 2022, and will feel as though they’ve left at least one title behind in the two seasons since.

Donegal are my tip for All-Ireland glory. It’ll be fascinating to see what Jim McGuinness will come up with as the new rules take hold. Michael Murphy’s return only adds to the intrigue around a county that will feel as though they left it behind them last season.

You’ll read elsewhere in these pages about Mayo’s trip to Jones’ Road for a meeting with Dublin - both teams will be aiming for a much improved year in 2025 - while Galway and Armagh meet in Salthill, in a match that will maybe see a few sparks fly with the Tribesmen still smarting from last July’s All-Ireland reversal.

Beyond the top tier, Roscommon will be among the favourites to earn promotion from Division Two. They are not far away from being ultra-competitive with the top teams and the Rossies don’t lack for confidence. In an open championship setting later this year, with an athletic spine to their starting 15, they could be an interesting prospect.

Sligo and Leitrim both start out together in Division Three with different priorities - the former looking to earn promotion, the latter aiming to stay put.

Under Tony McEntee, Sligo have been on an upward trajectory, but this year feels like the one in which they need to deliver on two major objectives: win promotion to Division Two and/or win silverware.

League promotion and competing in Sam Maguire football in the championship is the best outcome for Sligo, however they achieve it. The absence of Sean Carrabine, however, puts a major dent in any sense of major confidence about the Yeats’ County’s hopes.

On the hurling side of things, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s another twist in Limerick.

Much like the Dublin footballers in 2021, their run came to an abrupt end last year but they’ve still got so much talent and quality, even allowing for the retirements of Richie English and Graeme Mulcahy. Don't forget, they still won last year's Munster Championship.

A new league format sees the top teams all congregated in Division 1A, but expect mostly shadow-boxing for the majority of the league as teams will be reluctant to show their hand, especially with four of the five Munster counties in the same group.

Clare won the double last year in marvellous style, Cork, the team they narrowly beat in the All-Ireland final, look poised to make the breakthrough some time soon and, beyond that, Galway may have a kick in them with the returning Micheal Donohoe patrolling the sidelines again.

Lets hope the weather plays ball, more than anything else, to ensure we have a weekend to whet the appetite ahead of another season.