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It has been a short winter this year, especially if you call Kilkenny or Dublin home and have the warm glow of champions to keep you cosy.

But with spring upon us, attention is beginning to revert back once again to the place we all want it to; the playing field.

The Allianz League always begins with such fervour, but ends with a whimper.

The excitement that action has finally returned after a near five-month hiatus manifests itself in bumper crowds across the leagues for the opening weekends with expectant audiences anxious to see what kind of shape their team is in as they set sail for Championship.

Disappointingly this exuberance seems to dissipate as the league’s progresses and the focus starts to switch to summer.

It is a peculiar anomaly and a difficult one to solve. One thing for sure is that the leagues have grown significantly in importance for players and management teams as the correlation between a successful spring and summer campaign continues apace.

The facts speak for themselves with Tyrone (2003), Kerry (2004, 2006, 2009) and Cork (2010) proving the old adage that "winning is a habit, but a good habit."

This year sees another change in the format with the return of semi-finals. We will just have to wait and see how this pans out. The funny thing about the leagues over the last couple of years is that they seemed to be working.

It certainly has been the case in football. With only the top two guaranteed a shot at the title itself, there was near enough no room for error.

There is now a situation whereby a team could win every round, i.e. seven victories, and not even make a final.

It raises a question about defeating the purpose of having a "league" in the first place? Added to that, very few players and supporters found cause for complaint with the structure of the Leagues with the way they were.

It is the Championship’s perceived flaws that continues to cause disquiet with some sections, most notably the players, yet the status quo remains. Only time will tell.

Looking at the contenders, it is hard to look past the two that contested last year’s All Ireland final and it’s they who get the ball rolling with a bang on week one in Croke Park. Dublin have huge potential. They have not tasted league success since 1993 and should have won it last year.

They may feel it is time to tick that particular box and with a relatively young team bolstered by the swagger [something the Dubs generally do not need] of winning an All-Ireland, they will take a lot of beating over the course of the coming campaign.

Kerry, on the other hand, have some demons to exercise. No words can compensate for the nagging feeling that they left one behind them last September.

A good spring series will be crucial for them to rebuild the confidence that makes them the perennial force they are. Winning the league may not be as important as harvesting fresh talent, particularly in defence.

But having won the league on the previous three occasions they went on to win Sam Maguire, they’ll know better than anyone the importance of momentum going into summer.

The other major contender to win the competition outright has to be Cork, victorious in the past two seasons.

It is arguable that no one takes it more seriously than Conor Counihan’s team.

However, it was the way in which they exited the Championship as opposed to league form that will have taxed the brains of the Cork management team. Do they really need to win the league again?

Some of the big hitters in Division Two would make you wonder what the real difference is between the top two tiers. Derry, Galway, Meath, Tyrone and Kildare will all feel they have a chance of winning promotion.

It’s what makes the meeting of Tyrone and Kildare in the opening round in Croke Park, as part of that wonderful double-header, all the more fascinating. Kildare need to push on from winning O’Byrne Cups and the remodelling of Tyrone with new young faces coming through makes for an intriguing clash.

League Sunday will be covering all of the above and more over the coming months every week on RTÉ Two at 8pm. This week we have Ciaran Whelan and Kevin McStay on board to give us their views and don’t forget to tweet yours to #LeagueSunday.

All in all it’s good to be back.

Rory J O’Neill

Editor – League Sunday